Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives
by DarqueQueen7
Summary: The life of Ianto Jones from the beginning with highlights of Canary Wharf and before as well as beyond. Will have mentions of Janto. Poems, books and songs will comprise the titles...hope you enjoy the ride.
1. Chapter 1: What is Love?

_A/N: Well, Kids…the Muse Bunnies congregated in their Muse Bunny Pen and were beyond ticked I wasn't letting them roam anymore. So, they decided to hold my Itty Bitty Kitties hostage and have threatened furry injuries (applying magnetic tape and pulling harshly was mentioned) IF I didn't write another TW story._

_I have agreed to their terms and my girls were returned without injury (just to reiterate: NO cats were injured during the course of this monologue…lol!)._

_Since a lot of Ianto-based stories begin with Ianto's feelings after 'Cyberwoman', I thought I'd start from the day of Canary Wharf to 'Cyberwoman' to his past – and possibly beyond. And my story here is going to be AU, because RTD was damnably vague about Ianto's past. Also, since Ianto's job was archiving I figured I'd give this a sort of library feel…so, think of books, reference materials, Cliff Notes and the like…hehehe. I may also use titles to songs, poems…whatever catches my fancy at the time…I hope this tickles your fancy._

_Once again, the Meanie RTD & BBC own everything TW & DW related. I am not making a red cent off of this…and I give you…_

**Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives**

**Chapter One: What is Love…?**

He hadn't had a moment to himself since Canary Wharf. Thinking back to that horrible day, he remembered they'd a fight that morning, he and Lisa. It had been a long time coming…but it had only been the day before that he'd gotten confirmation of his suspicions. His Mam always said he had been born with his Third Eye wide open. There were days he reveled in the gift…and then there were the other days…like that one.

To be honest, he had always felt there was just something not quite right between himself and Lisa. After all, he was child prodigy from a Welsh public estate while Lisa Hallet's family came from money…_old money_. But she had assured him he was the man for her – and for a time he believed her. He had even gone to a few jewelry shops to look at rings; he made more than enough money to afford one worthy of her. But in the end, he just couldn't bring himself to commit to it. There was…_something rotten in the state of Denmark_, he'd hear his mam's voice recite.

_Hamlet…a story of royal infidelity_, he thought. Something was there…waiting in the shadows, counting down the time until he'd shown his torch on it for all to see.

The night before he had a nightmare: _fire, the smell of paper and ink toner burning, the sharp copper tang of blood in the air…and staining sheets of hanging plastic sheets. Then the sounds of screaming, of grinding metal…of marching metal feet…_

If only he'd listened to the voices that day. His mother's was the most insistent, warning him away from work. Instead he told them to sod off and leave him alone…he and Lisa had a row to get through before work, after all.

They were finishing their breakfast as Lisa was telling him she was going to be late coming home that evening. He then asked her if she was happy. She looked at him with her dark chocolate eyes in surprise – _and he could see her screaming in ecstasy as someone who was not Ianto pounded into her for all he was worth on an office desk. She threw her head back as she grasped onto the man's back, her nails scratching up his back as her hands sought better purchase _– and she asked him what he meant. He told her he knew about Jeremy from Accounting – and then asked how long was she going to hide or lie about sleeping with another man?

Lisa rose from her untouched breakfast then, looking to him for all the world like a frightened deer caught in headlights – and then she began yelling at him, her righteous anger giving her fuel to spew out hurtful words and half-truths to cover her indiscretion.

'Where were you when **I **_needed_ you? When **I** _wanted_ you? I have needs you know – _so where were you?!_ Always at Yvonne Hartmann's beck and call, you are! So…I found someone else! Someone who actually knows what the hell he is doing around a woman!'

As she carried on, Ianto simply ignored her outburst and continued with his breakfast, putting grape jelly on his buttered toast. He then took a forkful of scramble and swallowed without really tasting it. He did the same with his toast – _Never let good food go to waste_, his mam's voice said softly. He then looked up at Lisa.

The whirlwind that was Lisa's outburst died as quickly as it began, leaving her bereft as she sat down again at their little kitchen table, looking down at her hands wrapped around her untouched cup of coffee.

'What do you want to do?' she asked quietly.

'What would you do in my shoes, Lisa?' he asked, turning the conversation back to her.

'I'd kick you out,' she said without hesitation. 'But the flat is not mine…I'll…I'll talk to Jeremy.'

Ianto smiled coldly at that. 'He's living with someone…and she's not "just a flat-mate",' he said quietly, curling his fingers in air quotations.

Lisa's eyes hardened and her lips tightened at that. 'Don't you hate always being right? Always…_knowing things_?' she spat.

Ianto calmly finished his coffee and put the cup on his empty plate along with his used cutlery. 'Yes,' he sighed as he rose from his seat, carrying his plate to the sink. 'But I'm not always right and I don't always know everything…just…enough.'

They left the flat separately – Ianto had Archiving that Yvonne was adamant needed to be done _before_ 10AM that day; an important guest was coming and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Lisa was going to speak to a girlfriend at work – perhaps stay with her for the weekend. He nodded and left without looking at her. Little did he know it would be the last time he'd see her whole and human again.

Then The Doctor, the Cybermen and the Daleks came. And whatever was left of Ianto Jones's ordered world crashed around his knees. He _heard_ the screams and terror of his friends, his co-workers…Bernard, a Junior Archivist in his same unit, Mandy – the receptionist to the Head Archivist, Kareem – the unofficial Second Assistant. He was trying to get the promotion desperately…

And then, he fell to his knees when he felt Yvonne Hartmann get taken…_converted._ He felt his own lips curl maliciously when he saw Jeremy dead, his body discarded to the wayside as others had trampled the dead underfoot in their desperate bid for escape. And then…_Lisa_! He realized then that he truly loved her and could not fault her because _he_ was_ so different._

He knew that she worked in Administration on the 5th floor, so he ran out of the sub-level Archives and began making his way up. He couldn't say why it was that the Cybermen hadn't killed him – they were firing in his general direction. And hitting fleeing Torchwood employees all around him – and were truly not missing any of the other marks. All of their shots were dropping them like stones. He realized it was because he had help: he heard his Mam's voice, telling him to _DUCK!_, _STAY DOWN!_, _GET UP!_ And his personal favorite – _RUN LIKE HELL!_

She'd never actually said that one aloud – that was the first time he realized just how different he was. She and his father were rowing – again. Rhiannon had come in from school and was out as soon as she changed out of her school uniform – said she was going to the Davies' house as she slammed the front door. He was only eight – and his best mate lived eight blocks away. There was _no way_ he was walking there alone! But when he heard his mam scream the command _in his head!_ – there wasn't a demon from The Dark Place that could've stopped him.

His mam collected him from his mate's house a few hours later sporting a bruised jaw. It wasn't until two years later when his dad broke his leg at the playground "by accident" that he was able to _fix _him _permanently_ so he wouldn't touch his sister or him again. He _knew_ that when his father passed while he was at uni was because of _him_. And secretly…_he was thrilled!..._

And on the horrible day of the Battle of Canary Wharf, he realized just what he could _really_ do.

He was running down a corridor trying to get to a main juncture and possibly a stairwell. He kept moving as the Cybermen were firing at him from behind. It was like a dance: _Step right, count two, quick left, crouch, step back, run, run, __**STOP! DALEKS!!**_

Cries of "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" melted with "DELETE! DELETE!" until they became background noise and the only thing Ianto Jones heard was his Mam's voice…quiet yet _full of pride_…

'_Yannie – show them what you can do.'_

He raised his arms, one towards the Cybermen, the other towards the Daleks and using the training Yvonne and Torchwood One had been putting him through since Day One of his arrival – he _**pushed**_. The Daleks, four in total, all blew showers of sparks and screams from the organisms within could be heard as their mechanical appendages fell, deactivated. The Cybermen, a platoon of ten, simply fell to the floor in a clatter of torn plasterboard and clashing metal as they crashed into the walls of the long hallway. The overhead lighting dimmed and the interior CCTV in that area went offline for a few seconds as Ianto fell to the floor unconscious. He last conscious thought was 'Deleted and exterminated.'

'Interesting,' The Doctor mused, looking at the CCTV feed from the Control Area of the Ghost Shift Room. But then the Void was opened…and Rose Tyler was lost. And the TimeLord forgot about the strange human from Canary Wharf…until much, much later.

~~TW o0o TW~~

When Ianto awoke, he heard the voice of one of his Torchwood Psychic Instructors: _When you use your abilities and they are not focused – the shockwave will knock you out. Just…be prepared. And understand that if you ever find yourself in a situation like that…never hold back. At that point, you will be incapacitated and will have no form of protection. The orders that stand for that kind of op situation is Kill or Be Killed._

'Kill or be killed,' he whispered as he groaned and sat up from his prone position on the floor. His head was _killing him!_ But he was warned that blinding headaches after such a display would occur. He then took in his surroundings – and realized he was surrounded by the dead and dying. But the Daleks and Cybermen were gone! He didn't know where – and honestly he wasn't really concerned as he shook himself and, grabbing the wall for support, stood up on unsteady feet. _LISA!_ He _had_ to find her! He looked at the wall – and realized he was on the 5th floor.

He had been there once or twice before, but Lisa had asked him to stop coming up for her after he was done work. At the time he thought it was because he was embarrassing her in front of her friends; but later he realized it was because Jeremy's office was on the same floor. And she didn't want Jeremy to see the pair of them together. _More importantly, she didn't want you to know the truth. She knew that if you saw him…you'd know_, his Mam's voice said decisively.

He shook away that thought – it wasn't important now. Jeremy was no longer a problem. He needed to find Lisa NOW – and fast! UNIT would be around soon enough; if they found her before he did, they'd take her away and experiment on her. He couldn't let that happen. His Mam wouldn't let UNIT go near her son when he was small – and he had an unwavering belief that _they_ were the cause of his mother's fatal 'traffic collision' when he was twelve.

'Not going down that road now,' he muttered aloud, startling himself at the sound of his own voice. He turned the corner and made his way to where he remembered the Administrative Secretarial Pool was located. He froze when he realized he was standing in a modern version of 'House of Horrors'. He'd found the Cyberman Conversion Area.

The conversion units were deactivated – and a few were occupied with half-converted humans dead from the massive trauma and blood loss. He head the crackle of fire burning office equipment, paper…the smell of blood and burning ink toner. _My dream!_, he thought. _No time! Lisa first! Everything else is second!_

As he moved further into the space he heard a few moans, the fire and smoke were still rather intense in this area. He searched through the conversion units, cataloging which ones appeared operational – and then he found her. She screamed suddenly, thinking he was a Cyberman back to finish the job. She threw a hand encased in heated metal towards him in an attempt to ward him off. He screamed then as her burning metal hand made contact with his chest after it burned through his suit jacket and shirt.

Out of reflex, he hit the conversion unit encasing Lisa with a blast of energy and it collapsed, spilling Lisa out of its remains onto the floor. He then grabbed her from behind and lifted her to stand. She collapsed against him and he knew he was babbling something but couldn't be bothered with what it was. It wasn't until much later that he realized he had been crying out for help.

He got her into his car in the relatively undamaged carpark building next door. After accommodating her in the backseat, he again took matters into his hands. She had been crying loudly because of the amount of pain she was in and he simply couldn't leave her like that. Someone would find her… He put his pointer finger on the center of her forehead – the location of the Third Eye. Thankfully the cybernetic headgear enveloping her head had left that area open; he wasn't sure he would have been able to help her otherwise.

He _**pushed**_ into her mind – and thankfully she passed out. He then got into the driver's seat and drove the car to an archive warehouse Torchwood London didn't use much – but he knew an older conversion unit was stored there. He hoped it would serve as a temporary life support system…oh, he was really going to need help! But first things first – he had to get whatever he was going to get soon. The other Torchwoods would have been notified by now and representatives would be enroute.

When he arrived at the warehouse, he looked at the digital lock – and _saw the code_. He punched it in and the main gate opened, allowing him to drive his car in. He found the computer holding the archive directory right where he had helped to install it seven months previous while cataloging the warehouse's contents. He found the area where the conversion unit was stored and was pleased to note that he could drive his car right up to it.

Once he put Lisa in it, she awoke and was able to help him complete the modifications so the unit would serve as the life support system he hoped he could turn it into. As he worked he tried to _feel_ her out, but something _physical_ was blocking him out. His blood chilled then…that meant the Cybermen had to have rudimentary knowledge of the human brain in relation to psychic abilities and areas of the brain that were susceptible to physic intrusion. He then felt a shift within Lisa's mind? Brain? He wasn't sure…and then she spoke, asking him to forgive him. Telling him she was sorry…and that she knew now that he was the one for her.

Again his blood chilled – because this time he heard his Mam's voice saying sadly _Watch out, my son…_

He went back to Torchwood One in his car. He needed supplies – medicines and drugs really; Lisa had him write down a list. He was also collecting equipment – laptops, files, a few portable hard drives. He needed information to find someone who could help Lisa; someone who could make her whole and beautiful again.

The voice of his Mam cautioned him again…but he chose to ignore it. He had to…he loved Lisa. And weren't these the kind of risks one took for love?

~~ TW o0o TW ~~

After scavenging the ruined Torchwood Tower for the fourth time for the supplies and equipment he and Lisa needed, he allowed UNIT soldiers to "find" him wandering through the rubble of one of the sub-level floors. He was taken to a triage tent and was examined and then registered as a survivor. He told them he didn't know what happened to his girlfriend and she was registered as having been killed in the infraction. One month later he received hefty compensation checks for both of them since Lisa had apparently listed Ianto as her only next of kin. He was rather surprised by that…there was so much he really hadn't known about Lisa. That was all right though…once she was whole and fit; they would have the rest of their lives together to find out everything about each other.

After careful consideration – and discussion between himself and Lisa, he realized Torchwood Cardiff was where he needed to go. Lisa was going to need a quiet place; and it couldn't be the holding facility anymore. They – UNIT and the remaining Torchwoods were systematically going through the warehouses and cleaning them out. The stolen laptops had given him access to the job itineraries. They were up in about a week – maybe less.

He smiled ruefully as he read the reports given by the clean-up crews. They sang the praises of one Ianto Jones, Archivist, for cataloging all the warehouses and facilities so efficiently. He couldn't help but preen; he had spent three years of his life ordering all the chaos of those warehouses. The rest of the time…well, he'd have to make sure that the training he received was put to good use…for Lisa.

~~TW o0o TW~~

In the beginning, he had no idea why it was that Yvonne Hartmann herself appeared at his university graduation for him. He knew he was a bit of an oddity there. He was accepted at 16 and finished his degree in Historical English Literature in three years instead of the standard four. He used the last year to acquire his Masters degree in the subject. But it was his way of seeing beyond what was written; his way of interpreting what was said and giving his slant on the selected work that made him a bit of a star in a rather archaic and academic vocation.

The sealing of the deal, as it were, was entirely his fault. The university was holding an after-ceremonies party at one of its halls; it had an enclosed garden where everyone had gathered. It was understood this was more for potential employers to meet the graduates and see which ones were worth the effort of hiring. Ianto spotted Yvonne almost immediately – she was rather hard to miss dressed from head to toe in Versace – business like yet not afraid to wear stiletto heeled shoes and reveal a great deal of cleavage. Looking at her – _she was talking to a few of her office staff. She wanted the file on Jones, Ianto Emrys. UNIT wanted the boy and she wanted to know why. After a few hours perusing the file, she called everyone back._

'_We take him from them at all costs if the information in this file is correct,' Yvonne told them, her smile almost like that of a wolf's. 'He's a Viewer…and a partial Seer. And…well, I owe his mum one. She was a good woman. UNIT would have been terrified of him…but I can do so much more with him.'_ – he then smiled.

Now he knew why she was there. If UNIT couldn't have him, then Torchwood would. He always felt a few of his classmates were stellar in their fields and more suited for the wooing of UNIT and Torchwood than himself…but then he remembered his mam. And it would be a _freezing_ day in Hell before he'd ever work with or for UNIT.

Cambridge had already offered him a position in their Literature Department, but he honestly was more interested in their Library's Archives. Lots of old manuscripts, letters and personal diaries that had been donated to the University's Library through the centuries that he was just itching to get his hands on…but in his heart of hearts, he knew he would never get his wish.

UNIT had sent an entourage – a colonel of no great importance and four attaches, while Yvonne came only with her male PA. He liked that about her all ready. She was willing to fight dirty…and light. He was enjoying a plate of grape and cheese nibbles when Yvonne introduced herself and they exchanged pleasantries. The UNIT colonel then marched over and loudly introduced himself, all but pushing Yvonne out of the way as he thrust his hand out for Ianto to shake. Ianto, in turn, stared at the proffered hand as if it were a foreign object before setting his plate of nibbles in it. He then looked into the colonel's face – and Yvonne inwardly crowed as she watched the colonel shrink back.

'Go away,' he said softly, but firmly. 'I have never been nor will I ever be interested in anything your organization or its representatives have to say.'

'Whatever offer Ms. Hartmann has made, we can triple,' the colonel began. Ianto silenced him with a raised pointer finger.

'Not that it is any of your business, but Ms. Hartmann has done nothing more than tell me her name and the name of the organization she works for,' Ianto then turned to her. 'Torchwood, is it?' he asked. She nodded, a slow smile appearing on her face. 'I don't care. I know that UNIT hires its personnel from all over the world, but I had assumed that a basic understanding of the English language was a prerequisite for employment. So…I am going to say this very slowly: This conversation is over. Good evening, Colonel…whatever.' He gave the man a parting withering look, then turned back to Yvonne and offered her his arm and asked if she would like to accompany him as a light tea was about to be served in the hall. 'Students – graduated or otherwise, never turn down a free meal,' he deadpanned. Yvonne laughed at the joke and took his arm, allowing him to walk her inside.

As they were turning to leave, the colonel raised his hand towards Ianto in a final attempt to save the situation. Ianto simply turned around to face the man – and everyone present heard a resounding "_SNAP_", followed by the colonel's sharp cry as he fell to his knees clutching his broken arm. It was later determined the man's hand was broken in several places as well. Ianto looked down at the man in disdain, the colonel looked up at Ianto in terror and Yvonne Hartmann positively _glowed_ with delight.

The voice of Ianto's Mam remained uncharacteristically silent.

Yvonne hired him after tea – and Ianto accepted the more than generous offer. He was to be Assistant to the Head Archivist of Torchwood Tower in London during the day…and their psychic mole during the night. The training was nothing short of grueling, but he now understood the true extent of what he could possibly do. And being his mother's good son, he was going to take every opportunity to extend his power as far as it would go…and then _beyond_.

Ten months later, he met Lisa as he was running a requested file to the Floor Supervisor in Administration. Quite simply – it was LUST AT FIRST SIGHT. They had fallen into bed by their second date. She was his first sexual experience and had moved into his flat less than a month later. But now…

Now he wasn't sure if he regretted ever meeting Yvonne…or Lisa…

~~TW o0o TW~~

He had found another device in the warehouse that would be invaluable to them. A portable temporal/spacial hyperlink. Translation: a hand-held device that created doors between spaces thousands of miles apart. All he needed were coordinates – and he could move Lisa from the warehouse to where ever in milliseconds. The device was small – and to the entire world looked, weighed and felt like a credit card. But with his abilities he could see through the perception filter and knew the device for what it was – his and Lisa's salvation.

'Perfect,' he purred. He had the location of Torchwood Cardiff, he just needed to see their Archives. If he could find an unused section in its labyrinthial spaces to store Lisa…hook the machine to their power sources on site…then he could keep her alive long enough until he could find someone to help her. He looked to all the information he gathered that had been stored at this warehouse. It had all the information gathered by the Torchwood Institute concerning Cybermen – and more importantly, people interested in the cybernetic technology the Cyber race represented. Personally he didn't give a rat's arse about the technology, whoever he got to help release Lisa from it could wrap themselves up in it for all he cared. He stalked back to his notes…he ran across a name…a scientist of some note. Sorting through the papers, he pulled one out and held it aloft.

'Tanazaki,' he said aloud. He needed to build a rapport…he had some time. But first, he needed to get into Torchwood Cardiff legitimately, which meant getting a job there. This also meant having to deal with the flamboyant head of Torchwood Cardiff. He had seen the man at Torchwood Tower once or twice in passing, but had never been introduced. So…a few things.

One – he had to rewrite his personnel file. Make it as plain and unremarkable as possible. The abilities he had also had to be hidden; Torchwood Cardiff would be too afraid to work with him otherwise. Two – he needed to find a way of deleting the file UNIT had on him and, if necessary, get a few higher ups from there out of the way. If they flagged him, Captain Jack Harkness may not be so amendable in terms of hiring him. And three – he had to interest the Japanese cyberneticist any way that he could to come to him and help heal Lisa.

Lisa spoke to him from time to time, but their conversations were always short and stilted because of the amount of pain she told him she was in. A few times he wasn't sure she was telling him the truth – and other times he could feel the abject pain bleeding off of her. He had been able to calm her with a simple touch. On other occasions he was able to knock her out completely…with a simple touch.

_Now if only I could have pleasured her the same way_, he thought.

_It was not your fault that she strayed, Ianto, _his Mam's voice would say sharply in his mind. _It was HER decision, Yannie. She could have told her she was unhappy. But she wasn't going to leave until you found out…she was going to use you. Like she is now, my son. Never think otherwise._

'How can I think otherwise, Mam?' he asked the still warehouse as he began gathering his belongings. He had sold his flat and closed out all of his accounts in London. He was returning home to Wales…to Cardiff. He'd all ready purchased a home with the hush money Torchwood paid him…he still had quite a bit left. Enough to live on until he could secure a job with the Captain…

'I love her Mam,' he said quietly. 'Isn't this what you do for love?'

TBC…

_A/N: hope you guys like where I am taking this. Next chapter: I think everyone's done the actual betrayal thing during 'Cyberwoman' so many times that I'm not. I'll make reference to it, but we'll start this Archival Footnote on the day after. My inspiration is a song by the singer Rihanna called 'Russian Roulette'. You have to hear the mix on Ultra Dance 11 – totally killer!_

_So – next chapter: Russian Roulette._


	2. Chapter 2: Russian Roulette

_A/N: So sorry this took a while to go up. Well, Rabid Plot Bunnies are happy when stories gets read – thanks for hopping to it (pun was intended). Now, I know I said this chapter was going to start the day after 'Cyberwoman' – BUT – there are going to be flashbacks to that day. And once again, this is an AU Ianto only because I really didn't like the way he was written for that episode. Way too wimpy for my tastes…so, this Ianto is going to have a pair._

_Rihanna's _Russian Roulette_ was the inspiration for this chapter. Enjoy, read – and seriously, folks, REVIEW! It's really great for keeping Plot Bunnies happy and away from defenseless Mi-meows (another name for my cats). _

_Once again, the Meanie RTD & BBC own everything TW & DW related. I am not making a red cent off of this. I give you…_

**Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives**

**Chapter Two: Russian Roulette**

The clock on the kitchen wall clacked noisily in the silence of the flat. After Owen had looked him over and pronounced him stable for transport, Jack saw to driving Ianto to his flat. He made sure he drove Ianto's car very carefully. Had Ianto been aware, he would have been very impressed. Once he got him into the flat, Jack sat Ianto on a chair at the small kitchen table and then scrounged around looking to fix him some sweet tea.

Owen had said shock had set in fully after making Ianto presentable to the outside world. His suit was ruined, but it was too cold outside to take all his clothes off – so between he and Jack, they removed his jacket and shirt and put him in a clean T-shirt and overshirt of Jack's. Owen cleaned him up as best he could and wrapped a blanket around him. He told Jack he needed a bath, a good meal and to be put to bed – and he'd be around in the morning to check up on him. Jack and he both agreed the boy had gone to incredibly stupid lengths to save Lisa, but it didn't warrant execution as per the original Torchwood Charter – Article Five, Sub-section 14. He hadn't done it to take over the world; the idiot had done it for love.

Between them they figured four weeks off so that Ianto could heal properly would suffice; an official suspension with half pay. The complete details of the incident sealed for fifty years after his death. No one need know…

_Ianto laughed hysterically when that was mentioned – they three were seated in the conference room as Jack told him of their decision. The ladies were trying to clean up the mess the fight between the Cyberwoman and Myfanwy created._

'_You're putting me in the same caliber as The Kennedy Assassination?!' he asked incredulously. 'You could always send me to UNIT…they've wanted to get their hands on me for ages now. I…I'd always thought they killed Mam because she wouldn't let them near me. Yvonne had her suspicions as well, but it turned out it was just a good ole fashioned car collision.' He started to laugh then, but it slowly turned into sobbing. 'I've…thought like a _normal_ person for far too long now. I've…I've forgotten what I did at Canary Wharf…what I did to get here…what I did now. That…thing that was in Annie…it wasn't Lisa. Not…not anymore. She was never my Lisa anyway…not really. Even at her worst, she wouldn't have tried to kill me. I…it's time I remember…really remember.'_

_He put his head down then, he was fighting desperately to keep himself under control. His emotions were all over the place – and his mental barriers were gone! Christ! All of their minds were just bleeding out…even Jack's! His thoughts…they sounded like they were at the bottom of a well. They echoed from far away... _

Throughout time, Yannie_, his mam's voice said tenderly._

_Then his Instructor's voice broke through: _**Do NOT lose control, Jones! Lose control – and you kill people!**

_Oh…didn't he _know _that… _

_They had been so CLOSE! Whatever Tanazaki did, it was wrong. When Ianto saw her again, even as he spoke to her as he stared in horror at Tanazaki's body, he knew she was gone. And then…when he found Annie…and it spoke Lisa's memories… __**It**__ thought it had him, the Cyber programme within Annie…he could really __**hear **__its thoughts then._

_When Jack and the others arrived ten minutes later, they were afraid because the base's power grid went offline again. But by the time they made it to the room, the power was back on. They didn't expect to find Ianto standing in…the only way to describe it was red gore. It covered the ceiling, the walls, the conversion unit and floor. The unit itself was…melted and crushed. The Cyberwoman was on the floor, her dead eyes staring up at the ceiling. And the pizza girl – Annie?_

_All that remained of her was a mangled torso, arms and legs strewn across the floor. Her head was gone. Ianto turned to his colleagues then, a small smile on his lips and a detached look in his eyes. 'I…I took care of it,' he said, before falling to his knees next to Lisa's corpse. 'You…wanted me to, Sir. You threatened to kill us. So…I finally took care of everything,' he whispered as he cuddled close to the metal encased body covered in blood and muck._

_Ianto grabbed onto his head then, moaning softly. IT WAS TOO MUCH! He couldn't deal…it was ALL TOO MUCH! He WAS A FREAK! AND FREAKS ALWAYS FAILED! He stood from his chair then, still grabbing at his head, pulling at his hair now as his father's rant ran over and over in his head. The bastard... Jack and Owen rose from their chairs, Owen towards a med kit for a tranquilizer and Jack towards Ianto to try and...help?_

'_Too much!' Ianto cried out then. 'I can hear EVERYTHING! It's TOO MUCH! I can hear the girls…you two. My Tad! I…God damn it! I…TRIED! I…I can't stop it! Get…GET OUT!' he screamed as he curled himself into a ball on the floor, his arms over his face and head. 'Please! I…I can't…,'he began hitting his head with both hands._

_The power in the base went offline again and the conference room was in total darkness before the red emergency lights turned on. Then, a low rumble ran though the entire base – like an earthquake. Ianto then rose to his knees and opened his mouth, letting out a scream that was anything but human._

_Suddenly a crack appeared in the floor from the door of the conference room, running towards the large glass table. It cracked down the middle, splintering into dangerous shards that crashed onto the industrial floor. The crack then continued up the concrete wall to the plasma screen monitor mounted there, cracking it open and making sparks fly as it fell to the floor in jagged pieces. Jack and Owen stared on in horror as the metal rolling chairs they were seated in began to melt; the fabric and cushioning of the seats smoldering and catching fire. By then Tosh and Gwen had come up the chairs to find out what was going on and stood in shock along with the men, staring at the destruction happening within the room. Ianto then stood, his hands outstretched, his eyes an almost unearthly blue as he lifted his head to the ceiling and let out another almost unearthly scream._

_But before anything else could happen, Jack walked over to Ianto and landed a hard punch to his jaw that mercifully knocked him out._

Jack shook his head. Yes…Ianto needed rest. Especially now that they had an inkling of what he could really do when pushed to his limits. Jack found the kettle and moved to the sink to fill it with water when Ianto finally started talking. Only…whoever it was he was talking to, it wasn't Jack. He was looking over at the empty chair on the other side of the kitchen table and was speaking to it in Welsh. Jack sighed then. He wasn't sure if Ianto would come back to them. He was still angry with the young man. He thought…after everything they had done together.

The boy lasted about four months before he ended up in Jack's bed. It was a chance encounter in the middle of the night – Ianto was coming out of the archives as Jack had come in from a night of standing on the roof of the Millennium Centre. Now he wondered if the boy ever slept. One moment they were speaking quietly, the next, Jack was kissing Ianto; the lost look on his face just needed to be kissed. The next, Ianto was practically attacking him, stripping off Jack's braces and shirt as Jack was ripping off his jacket, waistcoat, tie and shirt, desperate to touch the boy's skin. Briefly, he saw a burn mark on his chest in the form of a hand, but filed it away when Ianto began licking his neck. They landed in an untidy mess of undone clothing and limbs on the sofa under the Torchwood sign. It was Ianto's first time with a man…and Jack made sure it wouldn't be his last.

They both enjoyed themselves thoroughly during their nights of passion. But as soon as the sun was up and Ianto Jones donned his suit for the day, play time was over. He thought it was the boy trying to reconcile his feelings of betrayal to his dead girlfriend. He had no idea she was still alive. He surmised that perhaps their nights of passion were nothing more than well orchestrated diversions to keep him from finding out the truth. He just never thought…never in a million years…he was simply _floored_ by the resourcefulness of his Archivist. His poor, broken Ianto. He looked up to the young man hunched over in the kitchen chair, looking across the table and chatting quietly to no one in the other chair in Welsh.

_Oh…Ianto._

The kettle began whistling and Jack took it off the heat, and after dropping the teabags into two cups, searched the cupboards for food. He found nothing – no plates, cooking pots or pans, barely any cutlery. The cups he found for the tea were apparently the only dinnerware in use. Even the refrigerator was empty. Scarier still, it had all of the new appliance energy efficiency tags inside of it along with that new plastic smell.

Cursing spectacularly under his breath, he pulled out his mobile and dialed Tosh. Amazingly, Owen answered. Apparently the pair of them decided a piss up together wasn't a bad idea. Smiling, he then asked if either of them were up to doing a quick run at Sainsbury's because Ianto had nothing in his flat to eat. Tosh took the mobile then, and Jack could hear sounds of moving, then the quiet of the street as they left the pub.

The staples would be picked up so they could have tea that evening and a good breakfast the next day – then Jack would have to convince Ianto to go shopping in earnest. Tosh told Jack they should be done within an hour and if he could text her the address, they'd pop it over straight away.

'I didn't mean to take you away from the pub,' Jack said in apology. Owen spoke on the mobile then.

'No worries, Boss,' he said as they rounded the corner to the Sainsbury's at the end of the shopping district. 'The pub will still be open – and it's Fish and Chips Night. Tosh and I'll be fine.'

Once he rung off, he immediately texted directions to Tosh – then turned to look at the Welshman in question. He brought over the tea cups and placed one in front of him. _How did I miss all of this?_ he asked himself. _Easy_, he answered himself. _Too busy checking out his stunning arse, looking at how gorgeous he looked in – and out of his suits, never realizing he was working himself to death…_

'Ianto,' he said softly aloud. The young man started, as if realizing for the first time that he wasn't alone. He ran dirty, shaking hands through his blood stained and unruly hair in a vain attempt to calm it. He then lowered his hands to straighten a tie that was no longer there.

'I'm…I'm sorry I lost control at the Hub, Sir,' Ianto said softly. 'I…That never should have happened.'

Jack cleared his throat. 'We'll take of that when you're better. Right now, I want you to drink up the tea. Then I'll help you get cleaned up. Tosh and Owen are doing a bit of shopping for you. You and I will do the serious shopping -.'

'I'm sorry, sir,' Ianto began, cutting Jack off and he realized that Ianto still wasn't quite with him. 'So sorry,' he whispered. 'Mam knew Lisa wasn't right. To be honest, so did I. But I didn't listen…I didn't want to believe. Kept…kept missing the forest for the trees, as one of my Psych Instructors would say.' He sighed at that point – and the tears began anew. 'Missed the forest for the fucking trees,' he murmured brokenly a few minutes later.

Sighing deeply, Jack rose from his chair, giving up on the warm tea ploy. He lifted the pliant Welshman from his seat and walked him to what he hoped was the bedroom. 'Ianto,' he said softly. 'I'm going to take you to your bathroom so you can get clean. By the time you are done, Tosh and Gwen should be around with the groceries. I'll order us some take-out tonight. What would you like?'

But Ianto wasn't speaking anymore. Jack sighed again.

_We are in the Winter of Our Discontent_, Jack heard _a woman's voice _say softly. _He will come back to you when he is ready; but __**only**__ when he is ready._

Jack started at that. It had been decades since he had experienced any type of psychic or paranormal activity; two in twenty-four hours was a bit much. Wait…there were actually three…

'Mam,' Ianto mumbled softly.

Jack undressed Ianto in his bedroom's ensuite, then walked him into the shower stall. Once he realized that Ianto still wasn't moving, he undressed as well and, turning the water on, joined him for a long, hot shower.

Ianto could feel the water, knew his was naked in a shower with Jack, but he couldn't have cared less. He felt so worthless…so…dirty. He became a whore to save Lisa…she probably would have laughed at the irony of it if she could. She would have laughed long and loud…because he _liked_ having sex with Jack. Jack…made him feel…so much _more_. But he had used Jack to help Lis…that Cyber Thing. His Tad in his head muttered loudly that he deserved nothing more than death. He killed and maimed enough to get himself into Torchwood 3 – and for what?

_When Jack hit him, he fell to the floor unconscious. He awoke as Jack had him cradled to his chest, carrying him to the disarrayed Autopsy Bay. He was marginally aware of Owen yelling things to Jack, Jack nodding and yelling things back – and Gwen and Tosh trying to make sense of all the equipment, cabinets and furniture tossed about or destroyed by Myfanwy and the Cyberwoman. He could hear them cleaning and commenting about how some things may have to be thrown out because of the damage._

That isn't their job_, he thought, his mind locking onto what they were doing. _It's MINE!

_Tosh and Gwen yelped suddenly as a dented fifty kilo metal lock box they were trying to move lifted itself out of the tidal pool and slid quietly back into its place, its dents popping out and looking like new. Cleaning cloths, broom, mop and cleaning solutions then flew out from a cupboard in the kitchenette to the main area, and, in a scene reminiscent of _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_ in _Fantasia_, the items began flying about the main area of the Hub, cleaning and straightening while damaged items began repairing themselves._

_Gwen yelled for Jack at that point, and after a quick look at what was going on, he came back and held Ianto's head tenderly in his hands. 'Ianto,' he whispered as he looked into empty blue eyes staring straight through him that the night before were looking at him in adoration as he brought him to orgasm. 'Let us help you, Ianto. You are pushing yourself too hard. You are going to hurt yourself. Please Ianto. Please…stop.' He then took the young man into his arms and kissed him passionately, tenderly on his lips. After a few moments, he let Ianto go and stepped back. Ianto's almost dead open eyes showed no change, but everything stopped as suddenly as it had started. All the cleaning items clattered to the floor, startling everyone except for Ianto. Owen then cleared his throat._

'_Let me do my job, Harkness,' he said softly. 'And you have to try and get me a __**complete**__ medical file on him,' he finished nodding towards Ianto. 'Because his files say NOTHING of,' he flayed his arms over his head then. 'THIS!' he spat out._

~~TWTW~~

'Winter of our discontent,' Ianto muttered in the shower as Jack finished washing out the shampoo from Ianto's hair and the soap off of his body. He then cut the water and stepped out of the shower, found two fluffy bathsheets and, after securing one around his waist, wrapped Ianto in another and then began drying Ianto in earnest with a bath towel. In passing, Jack couldn't help but notice the good quality of the towels or how nice the sheets and duvet on Ianto's bed were as he headed into the ensuite. Ianto had _very_ good taste.

'Thank you,' Ianto mumbled as Jack was moving them towards the bedroom. Jack sat him on the edge as he joined him on the bed.

'For what?' Jack asked as he continued to dry Ianto off.

'Complimenting my tastes,' Ianto answered. Jack stopped what he was doing and turned Ianto's face so he could look into his eyes. He smiled as tears came to his eyes.

'There you are,' Jack said softly. 'Thank you for coming back…to me,' Jack said softly.

'Mam said to take my time…but not too long because you were worried. I…I almost stayed. I…all I wanted was a loaded gun and little privacy. But Mam wouldn't let me be – said killing myself wouldn't end the pain…the shame of what I'm feeling. I'm…not all here yet,' Ianto answered. He then frowned. 'I'm not explaining myself well, am I?'

Jack chuckled then. 'As well as can be expected. I…I think I can live with that.'

Ianto hauled in a deep breath, then looked Jack in the face. 'I…was…am…ashamed of myself. I…never meant to hurt you, Jack. I…thought…I thought Doctor Tanazaki could help her…but all he did was reactivate the dormant programming hardwired into her new consciousness. She was gone! Whatever was left of her…it was… I…Oh, God! Tad was right! I am such a FREAK!' Ianto cried as he covered his face with his hands.

The last sentence was said with such vehement self-loathing that Jack took hold of the young man in a bone crushing hug. He could almost hear Alice Guppy calling him such things….

'You are NOT a freak, Ianto Jones,' Jack answered just as vehemently. 'You are just different – no more, no less. And that isn't a bad thing.'

'And yet…isn't that enough? Lisa and I rowed that day; the day of Canary Wharf,' Ianto said softly, his head resting against Jack's bare chest and shoulder. 'She was having an affair with someone from the Accounting Department.' Ianto snorted and pulled away from Jack, tears mixing in with his sobbing laughter. 'I…never realized how funny that sounds. It's…It's the first time I've ever said it aloud. I…I was a favorite of Yvonne's – because of my gifts. Lisa didn't know about them at first…and it wasn't like I advertised. She…thought I was sleeping with Yvonne. I guess it made it easier for her to cheat on me with Jeremy.' He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed deeply. 'She…she was my first, you see. I…I was just so floored that she'd want to be seen with me…But Mam never liked her…and when I finally started to listen…to use what the Torchwood Instructors were teaching me, it was two years later and she was using me to see if she could get a better position within Torchwood. Jeremy was using her because he thought his dick was God's gift to women and hoped that he could also get a better position within Torchwood.' He sighed again. 'The day before the Canary Wharf Battle I found out about everything. Yvonne had an inkling something was going on, but had me meet Jeremy to confirm it. She didn't want internal conflict to affect my abilities. I know she thought she was doing me a favor… But there have been times since that I wondered if it would have been better to just let aliens take the damn planet.'

He turned to Jack, who had remained uncharacteristically silent. 'I don't know what I was expecting when I slept with you. With Lisa…it felt…cold. But with you…you were _warm…alive_. You were my first as well, as you know. Whatever it was originally meant to be…it became something else entirely didn't it?' He stood up then and, taking the towel from around his waist, stood naked in front of Jack as he dried his face and hair with it.

It took every ounce of control Jack Harkness possessed not to jump Ianto right then and there, the bizarre circumstances surrounding them at the moment be damned. Ianto stopped drying his hair and turned to Jack as if he'd just let out a wolf whistle and covered himself with the towel.

'Sorry,' he mumbled apologetically. 'I'm…still not all here…yet. I…I can hear _everything_. My…shields, for better explanation, are all down. I'm hearing you…the neighbors in the building. Everything.'

Jack was intrigued. 'Like what?'

'The lady in 3A is hoping her cat will be okay at the vet's surgery. It will make a full recovery. The couple below us – flat 2D? She's pregnant and delighted; he's ready to bolt because he wanted to break off with her anyway. He'll finally leave when the kids are seven, five and four respectively. The neighbor next door – nice gent…he just passed away,' he said, he voice taking on a sad ethereal quality. 'We'll have to call 999.' Ianto sighed then. 'A shame really…he was a nice neighbor.'

'I'll give 999 a call-,' Jack began.

'No need,' Ianto whispered; a small grim smile on his lips. 'They know…I just told their computer system.'

Jack sat a little straighter at that. 'You can do that?'

Ianto simply nodded. 'Courtesy of Torchwood London. My mam may have been friends with Yvonne Hartmann, but she trusted her about as far as she could throw her. She tried to keep everyone that wanted a piece of me away…but in the end it was better to work with the devil that knew you and paid well.' He sighed again. 'I don't know if I ever really loved Lisa, or if it was more of what she represented. She was normal…but she was also cruel. I was used to it; my Tad was an absolute monster at times. He tried to teach me a lesson by breaking my leg on a swing set when I was ten at the local park. He was in a rage over something or other and decided to take it out on me.'

He sighed unhappily then. 'Rhia, my sister, was more like him; down to earth, happy with living in the estates. I was more like Mam; I just saw things differently. I knew and felt that there was just _more_ to life…and I knew that if I stayed in the estates, I'd never see it. He hated that about me, hated how I excelled in any class I took. I could see it in his mind… When I was sixteen I passed all my A levels…and then I was gone.

'I did something to him that day at the park…I remember laying on the rubber mat underneath the swing, him yelling out for help while cursing at me under his breath, telling me not to tell if I knew what was for my own good. He stunk of sweat and drink…and something inside of me snapped. I looked at him…I could see his heart…and I _crushed_ it in my mind's eye. When the ambos came for me, they had to take him in as well. Small stroke, they said. He didn't die then, but he never laid a hand on me again.

Cambridge gave me a full scholarship…and four days after my eighteenth birthday, Tad died…massive heart attack. I had heard from Rhia the day before – she said Mam had taken out a life insurance policy on herself and Tad was ticked because he wasn't the primary beneficiary…I was. I was so angry…I just saw his heart in my head…and I crushed it again…and he died.' He went silent then and looked into Jack's eyes.

'I…killed UNIT members that knew of me…that wanted me. I needed to keep my name off of their radars…so that I could work for you…for Lisa. They've been hot for me since the day I was born. I erased my records from the Torchwood and UNIT databases and put in the one you have now.' He smiled then. 'You have no idea how hard it was to look worried when you rattled off the 'stats' of my fake CV when I showed up on the docks with that cup of coffee for you.' The smile melted off of his face as he moved to a chest and opened a drawer to pull out two pairs of boxers.

After making sure his were on properly, he dropped his towel and threw the second pair at Jack. 'Tosh and Owen are almost here. Those should fit you…I. I want to stay in here until they leave if you don't mind.'

Jack nodded and put the boxers on quickly underneath the bathsheet before stripping it off and walking into the ensuite to get dressed. He chucked Ianto's discarded clothes into the bin and returned to the bedroom to find Ianto dressed in a dark shirt and dark pajama bottoms that reminded him of his dark button down shirt and tight jeans…_just like from the first night that they met in Bute Park…the Weevil attack…_ Ianto hissed then and turned to Jack, his face contorted in pain. Jack immediately rushed to him, putting one hand on the top of Ianto's head, the other over his right temple.

'I'm sorry,' he whispered softly. 'I didn't mean -.'

'How can you _forgive me_?' Ianto asked through clenched teeth, cutting off the rest of what Jack was going to say. 'I _used_ you! I whored myself out to keep you occupied – and away from a creature that could have destroyed the world! _I was no better than a hustling rent boy!_ And I did all of that for a creature that when it was human would have sold me out in a heartbeat! That was sleeping with me for a better flat, a raise in pay and maybe a bloody company car!'

'But what we did…it became something else for you, right? Something more?' Jack asked him huskily. Ianto nodded slowly as fat tears rolled down his cheeks and onto Jack's hand. He turned him around, holding Ianto's face in one hand while wrapping the other around his waist to pull him flush against his body. Ianto put one hand to the bruise on Jack's lip from where he had hit him, crying silently and closing his eyes. 'It became something more for me as well,' Jack answered as he took Ianto's lips in nothing short of a soul stealing kiss.

They both pulled apart slowly, Jack kissed both of Ianto's eyelids, the tip of his nose and his lips softly. 'I forgive you, Ianto. I…I know a thing or two about psychics…I may be able to help you control your gifts better…and what UNIT doesn't know won't kill them. Please, Ianto. Let me help you.'

Ianto leaned his head into Jack's and nodded slowly. 'Tosh and Owen are downstairs,' he said softly. 'And – if you're still going to order take-out for dinner, Chinese is fine for me.'

Jack tucked him into the bed just as the front door buzzer went off. Jack went to the telephone to let them in then found the boxes from Ianto's hasty move from London to Cardiff in the 2nd bedroom. As soon as he let Tosh and Owen in, Owen went immediately into Doctor mode and asked about his patient. Jack said he'd be waiting for him tomorrow, then thanked the pair for coming over and ushered them out. Going through the bags, he found cheese, crackers and grapes along with a chocolate gateau and good coffee beans. He hoped Ianto had a grinder and good coffee machine. He also found eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and a can of beans for a full English Breakfast along with bread and bacon. He called in an order of Chinese food for the pair of them and went back to check on Ianto in the bedroom. He appeared to be sleeping, albeit fitfully.

_Watch over him, Captain_, a woman's voice said in his ear. _Watch over my son._

'I will,' Jack answered softly. 'I will.'

~~TWTWTW~~

Four weeks later, a well rested and impeccably suited Ianto Jones walked through the cog door into the main area of the Hub. The alarm alerted the others to his arrival; Owen rose up from the Med bay, Tosh stood from her terminal – and Jack and Gwen looked down at him from the conference room.

Jack nodded to him as he heard the now familiar well-like echo of Jack's thoughts in his head: _Welcome back, Jones Ianto Jones._

He nodded in return as Tosh gathered him in her arms, giving him a heartfelt hug. Owen then dragged him down to the Med Bay, time for another checkup.

'Do you think he will stay?' Gwen asked Jack as they watched Owen take the Welshman away.

'Yes,' Jack answered simply. 'And not because he thinks he has nowhere to go. He'll stay because he wants to. Because…I asked him to.'

A/N_: I know I could have pushed this farther – but I figured this was as good a place as any to stop. Next up: Small World and the Fairies – I've called it_ The Stolen Child_ which is the poem uttered by the Fairies and is by the famous poet W.B. Yates. We'll see what they make of Ianto…and what he makes of them._

_Please R&R…it's Manna from the Web…honestly._


	3. Chapter 3: The Stolen Child

_A/N: Sorry for this being so late – RL has been beating the creativity out of me! Thank you for reading this; I have been really thrilled with the comments (stories4ever? This means you!), so please keep 'em coming._

_Well…in _Small Worlds_ I really felt that the writers had no idea what to do with Ianto, so he was only in three scenes! Kind of makes you wonder what the hell Gareth was doing on the set in between takes…so, I decided to give our favorite Welshman a lot more facetime in this version. And please remember – AU here – meaning if you are looking for canon – NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. _

_Okay, now that's been cleared up - the inspiration for this chapter is the poem the Fairies keep chanting to and around little Jasmine. It is W.B. Yeats' _The Stolen Child_. And I think we'll delve a bit into Ianto's stolen childhood and stolen life thanks to Torchwood. More importantly, how he interacts with the Fairies and what they make of him…_

_So once again, the Meanie RTD & BBC own everything TW & DW related. I am not making a red cent off of this. I give you…_

**Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives**

**Chapter Three: The Stolen Child**

The Hub was still as Ianto moved silently within its dark spaces. He should have been home hours ago, but he still didn't feel like he was doing his share after…Lisa. He made sure all the reports were filed correctly, he cleaned up after everyone and made his finest brews…but he could feel it in the back of his mind. And read it in the front of everyone else's. He frightened them with his display of power; he'd let the Genie out of its bottle. And once that happens…it can never be stuffed back in and forgotten.

Jack and Owen both had told him he needed to rest more, but when he slept…dreams of Canary Wharf would invade his sleep. Dreams of screams and blood and moving metal… He would wake in tears, his sheets wrapped around his body like winding cloths while rivulets of sweat would run down his back. His Mam's voice would calm him…or Jack would come into the room and soothe him back to sleep with a glass of cool water and a kiss to his forehead. When the night terrors woke Ianto six nights in a row, Jack asked Owen if there was a way he could help.

He prescribed light sedatives and they seemed to work – or it could have been the fact that Jack had taken to sleeping in Ianto's spare room and kept his door open to listen for when Ianto began to whimper in the night. Jack would immediately rise from his bed and go to Ianto's; curling himself around the younger man. Ianto would then settle back to sleep.

~~TWTWTW~~

_Three days into his suspension, Ianto awoke to find Jack had put all of his dishes, cutlery and pots and pans into the cupboards of his kitchen. An overhead copper pot rack that Lisa had purchased was now hanging from the ceiling and his rolling utility table was sitting in the center of the kitchen, greens chopped up on it, ready for a salad. A large soup pot was bubbling on the stove and something heavenly was baking in the oven._

'_What…what are you doing?' Ianto asked softly. Jack turned around, smiling as he finished emptying the dishwasher and putting the last of the dinnerware away._

'_Great! You're up finally,' he said good naturedly as he wiped his hands dry on a tea towel. 'I was about to go in there and wake you up myself. Owen checked you over a few hours ago and said to let you sleep. How are you feeling, by the way?' he asked as he hung the tea towel to dry over the back of one of the kitchen chairs._

_Ianto stood silent for a moment. 'I feel…it's quiet. The…my shields are back in place,' he said softly, with a touch of wonder. Jack stepped over to him quietly and took one of his hands in his. Ianto marvelled at the moist warm feel of Jack's hands…_

'_Tea should be finished in about a half hour. I'm…I'm going to stay here with you for a bit. Owen and I thought it would probably be for the best. So, I cleared out the spare bedroom and set up the extra bed you had up against the wall in there. Hope you don't mind,' Jack said softly as he noticed Ianto's eyes going to all the things out in the kitchen._

'_You…you found my grinder and coffee machine,' Ianto said softly as he looked to the kitchen workbench._

'_Tosh bought you some good coffee beans. I'm hoping for you to make some later…perhaps as afters for the tea,' Jack answered. 'Go on. Let me know if you think I put things in the right places.'_

_Ianto nodded and then wandered through his flat to the lounge taking in the furniture, throws and knick-knacks he had forgotten about since he simply shoved everything not of necessity into the ample spare room. Curtains were hung over the large sliding glass doors and a metal bistro set was on the small terrace overlooking the sea. He felt tears come to his eyes then; he and Lisa had purchased the set during one of their last outings together. She had been adamant about getting it and he quickly capitulated in the face of her enthusiasm. He never put the set together though; Canary Wharf had happened about a week later…and there just wasn't enough time after that. He brought the set in its flat box and simply stuffed it into the spare room. Now he could see…Lisa was right. It was a perfect little set of outdoor furniture._

_He quickly turned, sighing sharply and scrubbing a hand over his face. He wasn't going to cry – not now. He noticed pictures were up on the walls: of himself, Lisa, some friends from Canary Wharf, his long lost family. He stared at the picture of Rhiannon and Johnny. It had been taken just after their wedding; he helped with giving them a honeymoon in Majorca. Rhi was pleased; Johnny was speechless – but grateful. Last he heard he had a niece _and_ a nephew…it was time to see them. Time to reconnect with his diminished family…before something else tried to tear him or them away._

_He turned and saw that his flat screen TV was also unpacked and seated on the entertainment console he never put together – another flat box endeavor that was never completed. These were all just items that he had purchased with the compensation money…he had wanted to have some nice things for when Lisa finally came home…_No_, he said to himself. _Not thinking this anymore_._

_He opened the drawers to the console and saw that all of his DVDs were set inside with care by category. Just the way he had packed them in the boxes. He turned as he heard Jack enter the lounge. He smiled looking up at the man, then the smile warped into a grimace as a sob tore its way out of his throat. He waved his hand around the flat as his head dropped down. Jack knelt down next to him and wrapped his arms around his back as he held him close._

'_It's okay,' Jack cooed softly as the tears Ianto had held back finally fell. 'And you are welcome.'_

~~TWTWTW~~

Ianto was in the Archives, checking up on reports of strange weather when he felt it. It was a whisper of something_…wrong_ as he felt chills go down his spine. He knew these _entities…_they were in Jack's bunk, disturbing his sleep. That he would not allow.

'_STOP!_' he said angrily as the entities appeared around him. 'He is MINE!' The creatures then began crying as lost children, begging him for help. 'Nice try,' he said condescendingly. 'You've had your fun – but he has been Claimed. He IS _MINE_! LEAVE HIM ALONE! And leave here now!' he all but growled.

The Archives was filled with the sound of wings taking to flight and the chattering of another language being spoken. There was also the sound of children's laughter. For a second Ianto felt that he should know the language – as a humanoid figure took hold of him, wrapped its long arms around him and breathed its fetid breath into his face. In reflex, Ianto _**pushed out**_; and the creature was slammed forcefully into the stone wall of the tunneled walkway. The creature hit the Archive tunnel wall and yelped in surprise.

'_We have heard of you…this does not concern you_,' the creature hissed.

Ianto smiled. 'If it has to do with Jack Harkness, then it does. You were not Called, you were not Summoned. So, you have no Right to be here. Time you were off then.'

The creature hissed again and Ianto waved his hand at it. 'Stop that – you sound like a deflating balloon,' he growled.

'_We know you_,' the creature cooed. '_It would have been so easy to have you join us_.'

Ianto smiled ruefully. 'Stand in line – I'm a very popular boy,' he deadpanned. He took a step towards the creature – and it hit the stone wall of the tunnel again. Ianto's hand went out and wrapped around the creature's throat. 'Do not threaten me…I'm not ten years old anymore. And even if my Mam isn't alive…she's still with me.'

The creature then screeched – and the oppressive mood the air had taken since its arrival vanished along with it. '_This is __**NOT**__ over_,' it said, the statement echoing in the empty corridor.

'I never expected it to be,' Ianto mused darkly as he walked towards the main Hub again. He was thumbing through the file he had recovered from the Archives, remembering a time at Torchwood London when Yvonne had spoken of creatures based on Earth that could control weather. Recalling the conversation, she told him in passing that the subject was a sore point for Captain Harkness. He was looking through another file when he felt someone watching him – and looked up into Jack's startled gaze. _Something was worrying the Captain…_

'You shouldn't be here,' Jack said aloud, his voice slightly uncertain. Ianto thought about it for a moment before closing the file.

'Neither should you,' he said as he hurried over to the computer, suddenly feeling left out and in the open again. He still had…feelings for Jack; but since the discovery of Lisa and his…_other_ abilities, they both had not continued the physical relationship.

'So, what have we got?' Jack asked, suddenly at his side and clapping a hand on his shoulder. Ianto nervously sighed as he straightened himself out.

'Funny sort of weather patterns,' Ianto answered quickly, noticing the change in Jack's countenance. 'Jack?' he called out nervously.

The older man shook his head – _and was on a troop train in India, it was hellaciously hot, but it beat walking! Someone was playing a harmonica; a few others were playing cards…happy, carefree. Then it went dark and the flutter of wings was heard. Then there was light – Jack was the only man alive surrounded by dead men…all suffocated with red rose petals falling out of their mouths_ – and then he looked at Ianto.

'You…saw?' he asked. Ianto simply nodded.

'Something has stirred them from their realm to ours. I felt the shift and realized they were in your bunker. Told them to pack it in and shove off; don't think they liked me much after that.'

Jack smiled then and pulled Ianto into a long hug. 'Thank you,' he whispered into the young man's hair as he kissed his forehead. 'But do not provoke them. They are sometimes referred to as Fairies…but they don't really have a name. They come from the Lost Lands…the places that Time forgot. They have control of the weather…and would not think twice about killing.' He pulled himself out of the hug to look the young man in the eyes. 'I mean it; be careful around them.'

Ianto nodded. 'You have taken care of me, Sir. I merely wanted to return the favor. Yvonne had files on them; but they were all incomplete. The researchers kept winding up dead. She told me not to worry about them…I still don't know why. I would have thought I would have been the perfect candidate for them…a child of above average intelligence that was more than marginally psychic…maybe they were afraid of me then as well. I know they were _terrified_ of Mam…but then, if you got her into a tizzy, I think even God would have side-stepped you.'

Jack smiled then, gathered him into his arms and kissed his forehead again. 'Let me get a shirt on and my coat. I'm taking you home.'

Ianto looked at the Captain then. 'But I thought you were all ready ho…oh! You mean_ my_ home.' Ianto looked up at the Captain again. 'Do you think of my flat as "home"?'

Jack smiled softly. 'Yes…I do.'

~~TWTWTW~~

Jack moved silently in Ianto's flat. He had left the young man sleeping soundly in bed – he was still unsettled by his own earlier dream – _no, memory_ – in the Hub. He knew that the creatures were still upset over the fact that he got away from them the last time, but he figured they knew more about him then he did himself. He never fought what they did to his men; they were in the wrong and deserved to be punished. But so brutally? And without mercy…to only spare him because he hadn't been there when they killed the child in question.

In the end it did make him a better officer. He kept a tight rein on ALL of his men and consequently his platoons always had the least amount of complaints due to "behavior unbecoming a uniformed soldier". It hadn't been easy explaining how his entire platoon was killed, but when none of the locals would touch the bodies, Torchwood stepped in and took care of everything. He sighed again at the memories…

He didn't like the fact that Ianto could _hear_ him now, but there really wasn't much he could about it. The young man was a powerful psychic…one of the most powerful he had seen for decades. He began to wonder if he was entirely human. He shook his head as got himself a glass of water – and another for Ianto. If that boy wasn't human, then he _really was_ full of surprises.

He padded silently back to the bedroom and, standing in the doorway, looked at the sleeping young man in the bed. Since their confessions to each other the day after the "Cyberwoman Incident", nothing physical had occurred; but that certainly didn't mean that Jack wasn't hoping something would. For him, there were nights that he dreaded sleeping in the next room because his own dreams were filled with visions of Naked Ianto in the all positions as they'd had sex in…and _so many more_. With Ianto, though, it wasn't just the sex… And yet, he was afraid of getting too close. The Doctor would be coming soon and he'd have to leave them all behind – leave Ianto behind. Or maybe…he turned back to the sleeping man. Could he? Would he?

He slipped back under the warm covers, thankful he'd kept his socks on. He didn't want to startle the sleeping man with cold feet. He just wanted The Doctor to make him normal – then he and Ianto could travel the stars together. With Ianto's abilities, they could stay one step ahead of trouble and live like Vegas Galaxy Kings. Or they could have a nice quiet life on a colony outpost. Jack stopped his thoughts for a minute. Could he live that kind of life again?

The man next to him turned into him then, snuffling quietly in his sleep. He moved his head on Jack's chest from Jack's shoulder and began to softly snore. Jack smiled, his decision made. Yes…he could live that kind of life again. And he and Ianto would live as happy old men, with however many children Jack could have for him. Yeah, he thought as he ran his fingers through Ianto's hair. He could give all of this Torchwood stuff up to live a nice, long quiet _human_ life span with Jones, Ianto Jones – in a heartbeat.

~~TWTWTW~~

_As a child, Ianto did not like the garden behind their house on the estate. Their house butted a ravine that was once a large wood before the estate was built upon it. The ravine was supposed to be made as part of a culvert system to allow rain water to drain from the gardens of the estate. Gravity and nature already did that, but making it a bit more permanent with cement and iron pipes wouldn't hurt._

_Only it never happened. A few workers got hurt – and many more came back with strange stories and wouldn't set foot in there again for tea or money. But Ianto didn't know that. All he knew was that he did not like the back garden – or the creatures that lived there._

_Mam took one look back there while hanging out the wash once – she never ventured into the ravine again. She told both him and Rhia __**never**__ to play back there. He and sister nodded dutifully; none of the other kids played down there anyway. Tad didn't like being around there neither…_

_And Ianto and his Mam never discussed the Things they knew that lived in the woods…_

~~TWTWTW~~

Ianto awoke with a start, nudging Jack a little. Jack, in turn, curled around him in case it was another night terror. 'I'm all right Jack,' he mumbled automatically. Jack loosened his grip and moved to kiss the young man on his neck.

'Then go to sleep,' Jack whispered softly in a husky way that went straight to Ianto's groin. He groaned slightly and Jack kissed his neck again.

'Do you really want me to go to sleep?' Ianto asked as he turned to face the man in his bed.

Jack looked into Ianto's azure eyes and framed his face with his hands, chuckling softly. 'No…Ianto,' he said softly, almost like a prayer.

'Jack,' Ianto answered just as softly as he groaned again, taking Jack's lips suddenly. It took Jack a few seconds to realize what was happening, so when they broke apart a few minutes later they both were panting heavily. Jack rested his forehead against Ianto's, licking his suddenly dry lips.

'Ianto?' he asked. 'Do you - ?'

'Yes,' Ianto answered quickly, almost growling as he took Jack's lips in a desperate, needy kiss.

~~TWTWTW~~

Tosh was the first to notice the changes in both Jack and Ianto.

Jack…was _happier_. He always _appeared_ happy, but now it wasn't his over-the-top-FAKE happiness. His smiles came easier…the lines around his mouth that gathered when he was upset were gone.

Ianto still kept his butler's façade firmly in place – but every once in a while it would slip. He would relax minutely when Jack would rest a hand on his shoulder, like a tall, young oak leaning into a summer breeze. Or when their fingers would brush against each other just longer than necessary when Ianto was passing out coffees.

Tosh was happy for them – happy they had gotten past Lisa. She had begun to dig into Ianto's past at the forceful request of Jack and Owen the day after "The Cyberwoman Incident". Jack was in full _Captain Jack DON'T-F-WITH ME Harkness Mode_. The information she found was nothing short of heart-breaking. Ianto was a true child prodigy – there wasn't a subject he couldn't conquer, a problem he couldn't solve. But his home life was absolute shit.

The police had been called on domestic disturbances many times until the death of Ianto's mother, Mary Eileen, in a car collision when he was twelve. He himself suffered many 'bumps and bruises' as a kid, probably at the hand of his father, but most of the physical abuse stopped once he was taken to A&E for a broken leg at the age of ten. It was ruled an accident, but Social Services kept an eye on the family until Ianto left for Cambridge at sixteen. His father died two years later of a massive heart attack; apparently heart disease ran in his father's family. Torchwood snapped him up after uni – a six year curriculum that he finished in four – and that was when Tosh hit a brick wall.

The only references to Ianto Jones working for Torchwood One were reports of how good his archiving skills were in connection with Torchwood Cardiff and UNIT's clean up efforts of all the connecting off-site repositories of artifacts – both alien and human contraband. The rest was just _gone._ Even after spending a few days hacking into UNIT covert records of surveillance of one Ianto Jones, she found nothing except for an alien computer worm that ate two of her servers before she was able to physically disconnect herself from the source she was hacking into. She remembered sourly how Jack laughed at that when he read her report.

'_It's okay, Tosh,'_ he said to her a few days later. _'He's not saying much yet – but I'll see if I can get some medical information from him for Owen. As for the rest…_,' he looked down at the file she had all ready compiled. _'I'll get him to verify what you've found and we'll include it in his personnel folder. Destroy the existing one. We know now that other than his name, date of birth and ID number, the rest is absolute rubbish.'_

_Poor Ianto_, she thought. _Always on his own, knowing…feeling something about himself was off_. She remembered all the storage containers and filing cabinets that repaired themselves as she and Gwen watched in horrified wonder. Watching the CCTV footage later, she catalogued that eighty-three occurrences happened within that three minute episode. Tosh smiled then. _Eighty-three – the year he was born_, she thought fondly. She watched him as he put together another tray of coffee and nibbles for a briefing…on _Fairies_.

Jack had left earlier with Gwen to 'meet an old friend'. He nodded silently to Ianto and then left. He returned later in the day with folder of blurred photographs and wanting Tosh and Ianto to prepare the briefing with information and photos from the Archives.

Thirty minutes later found Tosh bringing up scanned copies of the Cottingley Glass Photo Plates on the plasma screen of the conference room as Ianto was passing out coffees and a plate of biscuits. He was handing a coffee to Jack when he came out with a gem of an observation.

'I blame it on magic mushrooms.'

Jack smirked, then put on a face of mock indignation as he placed his coffee on the table – _a new glass one_, Ianto noted.

'What you do in private is none of our business.'

Ianto returned the smirk, then resumed his mask of neutrality and handed out the rest of the coffees, refusing to look at the _new_ plasma screen. Those images…the fake ones…something was just _wrong_ about them.

The pictures of Roundstone Wood came up – and Ianto gasped, dropping an empty cup and saucer to the cement floor where they shattered. The pieces then reversed themselves and the cup and saucer landed whole and undamaged into Ianto's hands. The young Welshman looked at everyone completely chagrined.

'Sorry,' he mumbled, then looked to Jack. 'Those pictures…those _things_. They are real. And she has been Marked, Jack. She can't Call them again…or it will end like Lahore.'

Jack then turned to Tosh and asked her to set up a computer program to track strange weather patterns because it would be the only way to track the Fairies' movement. As she nodded her head and began collecting her notepad and PDA, Gwen spoke up.

'Are you saying our machines can't pick them up?' she asked.

Jack shook his head. 'Nothing can.' He then looked to Ianto, but said nothing more. The others wisely took this as their cue to leave as Ianto put the cup and saucer he was still clutching down and began gathering the other used cups. Jack stood up from his seat and walked over to Ianto, stilling the young man's nervous movements. He turned Ianto to face him, framing his face within his own large hands. 'It's all right,' he said softly. 'Tell me. Tell me what you've seen.'

Ianto sighed quietly, nothing more then a heaving of his chest. 'Let me go with you to the Wood. I…have dealt with them before. I know a lot about them from my Gran; she always spoke of the old tales…of the Fairies of the Wood. The abilities I have are…powerful. But Mam's side of the family has always been gifted. A few in the past have gone with the Fairies…or maybe it was a Traveling Circus.'

Jack chuckled at that. Ianto smirked, his attempt at breaking the mounting tension succeeding. His face grew somber again as he looked to Jack. 'Send Gwen home now. If she goes there, they _will_ make sure she knows they are real. One day she will learn the price one pays to be involved with Torchwood…but it doesn't have to be today.'

Jack let him go and gave him an assessing look. 'So…you've met them before, haven't you?' Ianto looked into the blue eyes that studied him so carefully – and simply nodded. 'What happened?' Jack asked.

Ianto smirked again. 'Mam,' he replied. 'I never knew what it was that she did. All I know is that the other night mentioning Mam still being with me was enough to scare the Fairy holding me away. Don't let Gwen go, Jack. And call Estelle. We need to go to her house…and take away her Searching Stones.' Ianto then looked down to his attire. 'I think I need to get my boots out of my locker if we are going to be traipsing through the forest.' He then looked up at Jack. 'Did…did I scare them?'

Jack looked at him and smiled. 'Not as bad as you think,' he answered. He then looked down to his watch. 'Ten minutes? Owen's gone to fetch his kit. I'll ring Estelle and we'll swing by hers before we go to Roundstone Wood.'

Ianto nodded, then left with all the coffee things on his tray and went to collect his boots and a containment box.

~~TWTWTW~~

'Jack!' a beautiful elderly lady called out as she watched the Torchwood SUV pull up in front of her house. Jack, Ianto and Owen were then ushered into the house by the bright and cheery Estelle. 'New friends you are introducing me to, Jack?' she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Jack smiled and made the introductions as Estelle handed out cups of tea and passed around a plate of lemon biscuits in her lounge. Moses was sitting in a wing backed chair, surprised by the new arrivals. Ianto went immediately to the cat and held his hand out to it, his gaze unwavering. After a few seconds of silent communication, Moses rose from the seat and butted Ianto's hand affectionately. He then curled himself on the arm of the chair. Ianto then took the seat, his tea cup held in one hand while the other petted the cat.

Estelle laughed then, clapping her hands. 'Well! You have a way with cats!' she exclaimed. Ianto nodded, giving her what Jack could only describe as a 'Cheshire Cat Smile'.

'Thank you, Ms-.'

'Please,' she said, placing a light hand on his knee. 'Estelle will do.'

'Estelle,' Jack began. 'We're here about the creatures you photographed in the Wood.'

'The Fairies?' Estelle asked, a smile appearing on her face. 'I told you, Jack. They won't harm me-.'

'Do not Call them again,' Ianto said, cutting Estelle off with a voice that took all the warmth out of the room. Owen and Jack both started as they looked at Ianto. Estelle looked equally startled. 'How did you know to go to Roundstone Wood to see them?' he asked in that same tone of voice.

Jack looked at him then – _really looked at him_ – seated in the wing backed chair in his three piece suit with Moses at his side looking like a king giving commands. _King Solomon could not have looked anymore beautiful_, he thought. And he never felt more aroused in all of his long life.

Ianto looked over at him and smirked. _Shit!_ Jack thought.

'I…I used Forsterite, the Searching Stone,' Estelle stammered. 'It…it led me to them.'

Ianto then leaned forward and took Estelle's hand in his. 'I know you have dedicated your life to understanding them; seeing them. Wanting to prove to an uncaring world that they exist. But they are not the benevolent creatures you think them to be. They were once children…now…now they are so much more. Vengeful, unruly children with the powers of gods at their fingertips.' He shook his head then and smirked ruefully. _They sound like me, if I had been turned from one path to another…_ 'But they are not here for you. They are looking for another…a Chosen One. They are simply playing with you. Using a Searching Stone binds them to the one using it; it makes them come to you. But the Stone will not protect you from their wrath at being Summoned once they tire of their games.'

Estelle turned to Jack. 'Jack?' she asked. He closed his eyes then; at that moment she sounded as she had when he left her on the night of her 20th birthday – _she was beautiful, dressed in the periwinkle blue gown he had bought her. He took her to dinner, then they danced the night away and made love until the early morning…and he knew it would be the last time he could see her. Because Torchwood wanted him back…and the world was going to war._ Jack shook his head and, looking up, saw Ianto looking at him with sad eyes.

'Ianto has…abilities that allow him to know things by unconventional means.' He then looked to Estelle earnestly. 'He doesn't mean to scare you…or maybe he does. Those things will kill you. You can't call them again.'

'Why not?' she cried out almost petulantly.

'Because they are here for their Chosen One. They are waiting for the right moment to take the child with them. Until then, they will protect the child with all of their power. When you use the Searching Stone, however, they have no choice but to answer. And that divides their attentions – their power. They will kill to ensure that the Stone is not used again,' Ianto said softly. 'Your Moses has seen them. Cats have a magic all their own – and he has been worried for you. Worried that he could do nothing to protect you.' Moses then left his perch on the arm of the chair and climbed onto the coffee table walking towards his Mistress, meowing plaintively.

Estelle looked down to her cat and gathered him in her arms, squeezing him slightly. She looked up to Ianto with tears in her eyes. 'Is it true, then?' she asked. Ianto simply nodded. 'The Stone is in the kitchen. In a wooden box with a few other stones, candles, incense and a velvet cloth. Please – take it all away.'

Ianto nodded and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 'Thank you,' he said softly. 'You were standing at the edge of a precipice – and then you took a wise step back.' He gave her a small smile and picking up the containment box he came in with, walked towards the kitchen.

Jack sat silently with Estelle, holding one of her hands on the small settee as Owen sat in the other winged back chair in the room and simply took in the scene before him. Like Tosh, Owen knew how to look for things – how to see below the skin, as it were. Though his people skills did leave much to be desired, he knew how to read signs. And the ones that Ianto and Jack gave off, well…they made the Las Vegas Strip appear under lit. They both had turned a corner – and secretly, he was glad for that.

He could also see that Jack cared deeply for this Estelle. This older woman that was almost his mother, from what Gwen had told him earlier.

Jack was still holding Estelle's hand as she held onto Moses when Ianto returned. Moses was purring loudly from the cocoon that was his Mistress's arms. He nodded to Ianto; Ianto returned the nod. He then placed the box on the floor and removed a brown paper bag from his inner jacket pocket. The items within gave a metallic jingle as Ianto opened the bag. 'I am going to place these at your doors and windows and make a perimeter with these around your house. This will keep them away should they return uninvited,' Ianto explained. Jack, Owen and Estelle continued to look at him for further explanation.

Ianto smiled as he took one item out of the bag. 'Iron nails.'

~~TWTWTW~~

Thirty minutes later saw them in the SUV on the way to the woods. Jack had been looking at Ianto through the rear view mirror, seeing him seated with his eyes closed leaning into the headrest. To all the world he appeared asleep.

'Ask me something all ready, Jack!' he called out without opening his eyes. 'And keep your eyes on the road. Don't think I didn't feel the tires slip nor hear the brakes squeal three blocks back.' Owen sniggered at that.

Jack smiled a bit, then his face became somber. 'The nails…will that really stop them?'

'So long as she believes, it will be more than enough,' Ianto answered cryptically.

'So, what did you do?' Owen asked, intrigued.

Ianto opened his eyes and sat up a little straighter in the seat. 'Iron can be used to transmit a signal – a psychic one, a wave, if you will. Her belief is a power source – a battery that will power the signal the iron in and around her home that is now cycling.'

'And what signal is that?' Jack asked.

'One my Mam taught me,' Ianto answered. 'I figured if I could duplicate that signal then-.'

'Wherever it resonates, they won't go,' Jack finished as they arrived at the car lot for the recreation area of the wood. Once parked, Jack turned to Ianto and gave him a genuine smile. 'Thank you,' he said gratefully.

Ianto returned his smile with one of his own. 'Anytime, Sir.'

~~TWTWTW~~

As they were walking through the woods to the location of the Stone Circle, Ianto spoke to Jack. 'She doesn't believe it, you know.'

Jack had been taking readings with his Vortex Manipulator and tried to walk a little ahead of Ianto. 'Doesn't believe what?' he said, annoyance full in his voice.

_I know the truth, Jack,_ Ianto said into his mind. _Yvonne kept her secrets well, but she was one of the first minds I learned to breach. Got a five thousand quid bonus for that. And I keep all of the records in the Archives, even the ones you tried to hide, obscure or destroy. You have been in the Torchwood records for over a century. Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?_

Jack shook his head. _Go on._

_Estelle knows about you…she knows you are her Jack. She isn't an idiot, you know. She would prefer to hear it from your lips, but…well. You are __**You**__._ He then put a hand on Jack's back, stopping him in his tracks. 'You've not much time, Cariad. Even though the Fairies have been put off – the Maiden has finished weaving her Cord and the Mother is now deciding where the Crone is to make the final cut.' Ianto smiled sadly at the horrified look on Jack's face. 'Her own thoughts on the subject Jack; not mine. She has two years left, most likely less. She still loves you – and would forgive you – if you would forgive yourself for living so long yet not changing. Go to her soon – and when you need me, I'll be here.'

'Oi! Come on, you two!' Owen yelled from the mouth of the clearing. 'The sooner we get this done, the sooner I'm off to a pub!'

'Oh…priorities,' Ianto deadpanned. Jack laughed.

~~TWTWTW~~

_Ianto, Rhi and a few of the local kids were playing a bit of footie when the ball got bounced down the cement run on the side of their house, going towards the back garden._

_He was ten – and a few weeks later his Tad would break his leg and whatever vestiges of childhood he had left would be torn away. But for now he was chasing his friend Gavin Thomas, who was chasing the ball with all he was worth, laughing merrily as he ran._

_Gav was a good mate, sticking up for Ianto when the estate bullies would come round. They were always picking on Ianto because they knew his Da wouldn't stick up for him – and because he was already in secondary school while the lot of those brutes were struggling to get out of primary. Gav's mam was proud of her son, just as his Mam was proud of him. His Tad, however, couldn't stand him – _Sissy boy having his BOYFRIEND protect him_ – he tried not to hear his father's thoughts, but sometimes they cut deeper than the sharpest of knives._

_He then realized that they hadn't hit the ball that hard – so how was it still rolling? And it was rolling…_towards the damn ravine in the back garden!

'_GAV!' he all but screamed. 'STOP!' But his friend simply turned around, the light catching his brown-black hair, giving him a golden halo while putting a twinkle in his hazel-green eyes. Ianto knew at that moment without a doubt that he loved Gavin as the brother he never had – and he would do _anything_ to protect him – to save him. Even if it meant hurting him. So…he _**pushed**_._

_Gavin fell to the cement skinning his hands and knees and getting a scrape on his cheek. Ianto caught up with his friend, who was desperately trying not to cry even as the tears began to gather in his eyes. Ianto yelled out for his Mam then and Mary Eileen Jones all but flew out the side door of the house, a wet flannel in one hand and a first aid kit in the other. She did a quick assessment of Gavin and then looked to her worried son's face and smiled._

You did well, Yannie,_ she said into his mind. He nodded and then helped his Mam with Gavin as one of the other parents went to get Gavin's mother, who was a few houses down, visiting one of the other neighbors. Another of the parents collected the ball from the edge of the ravine and the children were back to playing footie as if nothing had happened. Gavin, now bandaged and clean, sat on the front step with Ianto watching the spectacle that was a summer day on the estates._

_Gavin looked to Ianto, smiling brightly even as a bruise was darkening the scrape on his cheek. 'Thanks Yan,' he said, putting a hand on Ianto's shoulder_ – and Ianto saw Gavin as a very old man surrounded by a large and loving family as he lay on his deathbed. Amongst the medications and pictures that covered his bedside table, one frame in particular had taken pride of place. It was an old frame with a yellowing school picture of both Ianto and Gavin as children and at the bottom of the frame on a silver scroll was a small inscription: _MATES FOR LIFE!_ – _Ianto then looked at his best friend, happy in the knowledge that he was going to have a long, wonderful and loved life._

'_You are so welcome, Gavin Thomas,' he said softly. _

_A few hours later, the sun had set, evening tea was finished and Ianto was in the kitchen helping Mam and Rhi with washing the dishes and tidying up. He felt someone watching and looked up out the kitchen window to the ravine. He smiled to his Mam then, as she felt something as well – and they both saw sets of glowing eyes watching them angrily from the dark underbrush._

_Humans 1, Creatures nil._

~~TWTWTW~~

When they made it back from the Wood, Gwen had long since left for home. Owen was quickly following her example when the Tourist Information Centre phone line rang. Ianto answered it and got a bewildered police sergeant with a bizarre death on his hands that his superiors said to call Torchwood in on.

As Ianto took down all the information, Tosh began inputting it into the computer system and pulled up photos and information on the deceased – a Mark Goodson. Jack was looking over her shoulder as Ianto completed the call, handed his neat handwritten notes to Tosh and went to his locker to deposit his boots. When he returned to the main Hub, he was surprised to find Jack and Tosh waiting for him.

'Really?' he asked. 'Are you sure you don't need anyone here to monitor the police scanners or the Rift?'

'Done,' said Tosh, pointing to the PDA in her other hand.

Jack simply nodded. 'I want you to come out more on field missions, Ianto. You are a part of the team now – and I want your opinion as much as anyone else's.'

Ianto nodded in understanding and silently donned his overcoat. From the corner of his eye he saw Jack looking at him – he felt his concern and smiled in return. _I'm okay_, he whispered into Jack's mind.

'Well, let's get to it then,' Jack said aloud, smiling broadly.

~~TW TW~~

The drive to the station was silent; Tosh was in the back working on her weather tracking program while Ianto sat in the front with Jack. He was looking out the window, thinking about his friend Gav. He had seen him during his suspension and Gavin had accepted him with open arms and an open bottle of Glenlivet. He had moved into a large house on the outskirts of town with his wife and child. Just a few months old, his wife Bernice put the baby boy into Ianto's hands before he was properly in the house – and like his father, for Ianto it was love at first sight.

It was time Uncle Ianto went round and visited both there and his sister's. He _reached out_ and felt an answering tingle. Gav would be expecting him this weekend…mates for life, after all.

Ianto had always wondered what he had done to ever deserve a friend like Gavin Thomas. It wasn't until two years previous that his friend let him in on _his_ little secret.

'_I could always hear you, Yan,' Gavin said softly as he handed him a pint of Brains. They had gone from Gav's house to a local pub; Gav got the first round._

_Ianto looked at Gavin rather perturbed. 'What do you mean?' he asked slowly._

_Gavin Thomas smiled broadly at that, feeling what he could only describe as a brick wall build in Ianto's mind. 'I've always heard you…and your Mam, unless you were blocking, like now? You've gotten a lot stronger then when we were kids. That time when I got tripped up when we were playing footie? And your Mam patched me up? I know it was you – and I know what you saved me from. I'm sorry you thought you couldn't tell me anything, but my mam and grandmam told me to be still about it, know what I mean?'_

_Unfortunately, Ianto knew exactly what he meant. A few of the other estate women would snub his Mam because of rumors running all over the place. In her heyday, Mam had worked for UNIT before she settled down and got married. She had worked with Brigadier Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart – and even met The Doctor. What he could never understand as a child was why she decided to stay on an estate when she could have worked for UNIT forever. It was later that he realized she did it for Rhi and him._

'_I understand Gav. But why are you saying anything now?'_

'_Well, my wife and I…we're thinking of having kids. Do you think I could pass it on?'_

_Ianto looked up at him again. 'Are you afraid?'_

_At that Gavin simply smiled. 'Yeah, a little. But I think it would be cool as well. I saw how well you and your Mam got on. But…you know there were always people watching you. Saw your Mam send them packing once or twice. I…I guess that's why I always felt I had to watch over you. Truth be told, I still kind of worry about you.'_

_Ianto smiled broadly then and took a deep pull from his pint. 'Thank you…but I think I'm doing okay these days.'_

'_Ah…the all mighty Torchwood,' he said, mock bowing to Ianto. Ianto flicked a pork crisp at him._

'_Hey, they pay me and I in turn, pay my taxes and my debts. They make me a bonafide citizen of this great commonwealth,' Ianto returned. He then looked to Gavin seriously. 'I can't say whether or not it will happen. Mam had Rhiannon first and…well, she took after Tad. I came five years later…and I was a Wunderkind. Just,' he sighed deeply then. 'Just make sure you both are ready for it. Mam was wonderful, but she went too soon. Rhi tried to be there for me…but she wasn't Mam and honestly…I was light years ahead of her in everything except age and family making skills. Tad…Tad was a monster onto himself and the only reason I paid for his burial was so that I knew where the body ended up. If it wasn't for Rhi, I would have paid to have the body airlifted to Australia where they could have fed it to sharks off The Great Barrier Reef.'_

_Gavin spit out his lager at that, chuckling as he sputtered for breath. 'You – Ianto Emrys Jones – are an evil man.'_

'_But you'll always forgive me. Mates for life, eh?'_

_They both laughed at that and finished their pints in companionable silence. After another round, Gavin pulled Ianto out of his seat and took him to his mam's for evening tea. Mrs. Thomas had gone all out and practically made a Sunday dinner because she heard Ianto was back visiting. Smiling softly as he walked back to his sister's house, he thought back on his life to date. His childhood had been hell, but he survived it all in the end. He thought back to his job, his girlfriend and the life he was making for himself so far. He had already lived through Hell; everything else would take care of itself…_

_And yet, a few months later…life and Torchwood would change everything once again._

~~TWTWTW~~

'Mates for life,' Ianto whispered as Jack pulled the SUV into the police station carpark. Jack turned to Ianto then.

'You okay, Ianto?' he asked, worry coloring his tone of voice slightly. Ianto turned to him then, a beautiful soft smile on his face. Jack smiled back, amazed at how gorgeous the Welshman looked then.

'When this is all over I need a few days off. I need to see my family – and a very dear friend,' Ianto said as he opened his door. He then went to the back of the SUV to collect a sample containment box. Jack and Tosh waited as Ianto closed the boot and the three walked the steps to the station's glass door. Jack stopped Ianto before he went in.

'Take any time you need,' he said softly. 'I'll be here when you get back.'

Ianto smiled as they followed Tosh into the station.

~~TWTWTW~~

As the sergeant was talking to Jack and Tosh, Ianto could _feel_ the Fairies' presence. They were long gone, but the residual energy they left behind was…_cloying_; like the scent of cut flowers that were allowed to decay. They walked into the cell and Tosh immediately began her initial assessment of cause of death as Ianto walked around the small area. He looked down to the dead man, a Mark Goodson, and stared into his open eyes – _The creature had its arm down his throat and was giggling manically as Mark fought for his life against it – but it was too strong! He couldn't breathe!_

'_**Trying to hurt our Chosen One**__,' it hissed_ – and Ianto stepped back with a small gasp.

'They were here,' he said softly. 'He made contact with the Chosen One. Tried…he was a paedophile, Jack. He tried to snatch her…she is a beautiful child. But…she's Marked. I can see her, but not her name. He didn't ask her what it was. They have made the Offer. And she has accepted. Once the Offer is accepted, no one can interfere.'

'Bullshit,' Jack growled angrily. Ianto simply took hold of his shoulder as Tosh ran a scanner over the body.

'Let it go, Jack,' he cautioned softly. 'I've read all the information Yvonne's researchers were able to gather before they ended up like our friend here. The best that we can hope for is that no one else dies before she goes with them.' He looked back again to the dead man. He would have hurt the little girl if the Fairies had not interfered. Mark – The Good Son; he almost laughed at the irony the man's surname made. It was no excuse, but the man's own childhood had also been hell. _You know what they say about apples and trees_, he heard a voice in his mind say. 'A stolen childhood,' he mused. _Like my own_…

Jack put a comforting hand over the one Ianto had put over his shoulder. He then looked to Tosh, who gave them both a small smile.

'I…I'll get a body bag and arrange for a gurney,' Ianto said and exited the room.

Tosh looked down at the body, then back up to Jack, still smiling.

'What?' Jack asked. Tosh chuckled then, shaking her head slightly.

'So…you and Ianto?' she asked. Jack just smiled. Her own smile grew wider at that. It wasn't an out-and-out confession, but for Jack Harkness, it was as good as. 'You are both good for each other,' she said simply as she looked into Mark Goodson's mouth. With one hand, she closed his eyes while she grabbed a set of large metal tweezers out of the sample kit with the other.

'What is it?' Jack asked.

'Don't know…I think,' she said as she grabbed onto something within the dead man's mouth and pulled it out. 'Well,' she said, looking at the wet rose petal hanging limp on the end of the tweezers. 'I've never seen this before.'

'I have,' Jack said his voice uncharacteristically somber. 'Can you prep the body so Owen can get on with the autopsy first thing in the morning?' Tosh nodded. 'Also, get the sergeant to give you the CCTV footage for this cell.'

Tosh nodded again, then put the petal in an evidence bag and was closing the sample box when Ianto returned. Between the three of them they got the body into the bag and onto the borrowed gurney, then wheeled him out to the SUV.

~~TW~~

Once at the Hub, Tosh got to work prepping the body for Owen the next day as Jack called up the file that had the CCTV footage of the attack within the cell onto the main screen in the boardroom. Ianto came in with Tosh and coffee and biscuits on a tray.

Ianto was standing beside Jack and gasped once he looked to the screen. Jack and Tosh only saw Mark Goodson pantomiming an attack with an unseen foe. Jack looked to Ianto.

'Can you see it?' he asked. Ianto nodded grimly.

'Not it, them. There was more than one in the cell with him. They…-.' Ianto stopped talking and walked closer to the screen.

'Ianto?' Jack asked. The Welshman in question suddenly went stiff, as if electricity was running through his body. 'Ianto!' he yelled rushing towards him.

Ianto held a hand out to still the Captain. 'Tomorrow,' he said through clenched teeth. It was like he was fighting something… 'Tomorrow,' he repeated. 'They're taking her tomorrow. Too much is happening; too much threatens their Chosen One. Beautiful little Princess…seven? No, eight. I…I see where she lives! It's…Old Forest Road! Oh…a final display. Oh, they are angry, Jack. Oh…this is not going to end well.' His body went limp and he crashed to the floor, unconscious.

Jack scooped him up from the floor and ran directly to the Med Bay, Tosh close on his heels. They both clattered down the tiled steps to the bottom as Jack put Ianto onto the bed as Tosh began running the Berkeran scanner over him.

'He's shocky, BP and heart rate are high but coming down. Electrolytes are all over the place. It's…like he's taken an electric charge to his system.' She then set up an IV and was putting the needle into his arm just as he came to.

'Ow,' he groaned. He then blinked his eyes and looked up into Jack's anxious face. 'I'm all right – I pushed to get more information – they showed me. They showed me what will happen tomorrow.'

'How?' Tosh asked.

'Because…they have already done it,' Ianto said cryptically. Tosh looked to Jack for an explanation.

'They are creatures that live within Time – beyond it. For them, the events of yesterday could happen day after tomorrow – or a thousand years in the past. They do not do linear time…because they don't have to.' Jack rubbed Ianto's shoulder then. 'That was stupid,' he said softly, running his hand through the young man's hair. 'They could have really hurt you.'

'Sorry,' Ianto said softly.

'Sleep – I'll wake you in a bit,' Jack answered, leaning down to kiss his forehead. He then covered him with a blanket Tosh handed him. Ianto nodded wearily as his eyes slid shut.

Jack and Tosh then both walked out of the Med Bay. After a few minutes, Tosh looked over to the Captain, who was still looking down to the Bay.

'Shall I stay?' she asked softly. Jack shook his head, smiling softly at her.

'No, I've got it from here. I'll take out the IV out of him when it's finished.'

Tosh nodded. 'He should be stable then. Any problems, you call me or Owen,' she said, she voice stern. Jack nodded, standing straight and saluting her. She swatted him playfully as she gathered her things, then went down to Ianto to say good night. He thanked her and settled down to sleep.

After watching her leave via the cog door, Jack went to Ianto's bedside – and after a few minutes of moving the young man's limp form – was able to fit himself on the bed with him. Wrapped around the Welshman, they both fell into a quiet dreamless sleep.

~~TWTWTW~~

The next day saw Ianto getting another check up from Owen. 'Are you sure it's not because you're like Jack and just want to see me shirtless?' he asked, smirking as Owen couldn't think of a suitable comeback.

Owen looked up and saw Jack smirking at them from his vantage point on the gangway of the Bay. 'I blame you for his corruption,' he said curtly pointing an accusing finger at the Captain. 'He was an unassuming Tea Boy before you.'

Ianto laughed at that – and Jack's smile grew wider. Owen looked to the pair and smiled himself; his signs analogy from the day before coming back to mind. His patient finished buttoning up his shirt and tied on his tie, then slid his waistcoat and jacket into place. He looked up at Owen at that moment.

'Anything else?' he asked. Owen shook his head. 'Coffee - ,' he began to ask, then drew in a deep gasp and grabbed his head with both hands as he leaned over the gurney he had just been perched on. Owen grabbed for him as Jack rushed down into the Bay. Ianto shook them both away as he ran to Tosh's station. The startled Tech looked at Ianto, her face full of worry.

'Your program…is it - ?' He couldn't finish the question as Tosh's weather program kicked in and alarms went off, showing severe weather in the playground of a primary school. Gwen had just come down from the Tourist Information Centre went the alarms sounded.

Jack was at his side in an instant, holding him close. 'Let it go, Jones,' he said softly. Ianto looked into the Immortal's worried eyes, shaking his head slowly.

'I can't, Jack. She's going with them…_today_. She has to know…once she goes down that path, she can _never_ return. We have to go to the school. Something about a princess…damn it! They are skewing my perceptions…not letting me see the full picture. We can find out who she is at the school,' Ianto explained. 'I _have_ to be sure she understands.'

Jack nodded and looked to the others. 'Gwen – stay here,' he said suddenly. 'Tosh – you to. You can guide us in via comm links. Owen, saddle up.'

'Hey - !' began Gwen.

'Jack - !' started Tosh.

Jack put his hand up to stop their arguments as Owen went for his jacket and kit as Ianto walked around the Hub, dropping metallic objects that clinked against the cement of the floor. 'This is dangerous,' Jack continued in a tone that meant business. 'They will kill without mercy. This is the only way I can protect you…I am sorry.'

Tosh turned to Ianto, startled at how pale the Welshman was as he returned to Jack's side. 'I put these around the main area here,' he said holding up two iron nails. He then put one in Tosh's hand, the other in Gwen's. 'These will protect you. Keep them on you at all times.'

Jack pulled on his greatcoat and turned to Ianto. 'Ready?' he asked. Sighing, Ianto nodded.

'Owen's getting the SUV,' he said, getting on the invisible lift. He shuddered then; the last time he was on it was when Jack set Myfanwy on Lisa. Jack put a supportive hand on Ianto's shoulder. He smiled, looking at the Captain. 'Are you sure you're not the psychic here?' he asked as Jack punched in the code to activate the lift.

'No,' Jack answered softly as they rose to the Plass. 'I just know you.' Ianto's smile widened at that.

~~TWTWTW~~

'_And there was little Jasmine – untouched by it all. The sun was shining down on her – it was like an aura…'_

~~TWTWTW~~

Racing to her house from the school, Ianto groaned as his mind made a connection. 'Jasmine… A princess,' he said, groaning as he hit his forehead with his hand.

'What?' Jack asked.

'Princess Jasmine from "Aladdin",' Owen answered as he turned down Old Forest Road. Jack and Ianto simply stared at the acerbic medic. 'What?' he asked defensively. 'Katie…Katie loved the movie. Had me buy it on DVD when it first came out.'

Ianto put a hand on his shoulder and gripped it slightly. 'Ponce,' he said softly.

'Pillow biter,' Owen said back.

'I can attest to the fact that the _last_ thing he does is bite a pillow,' Jack added as the SUV stopped in front of the house. All three smiled at each other as they opened their doors. As they piled out, Ianto handed the pair an iron nail each.

'Let's go – and be careful,' Ianto said as the wind suddenly picked up and screams came from the back of the house.

The three ran into a wall of people scrambling out of the back garden for their lives. Ianto had to close his eyes as memories of the chaos that was Canary Wharf threatened to take over. Jack and Owen were yelling for everyone to go as a creature took hold of Jack at his neck and two more singled out another man. Owen ran to a woman that was screaming the man's name, Roy. Owen held her back, protecting her from the creatures.

Ianto closed his eyes and flicked his hand at the creature holding Jack. It squealed as it flew off Jack into a tree trunk. The ones on Roy finished their deed and carried their injured mate away towards the Wood, shaking their fists at Ianto. Sighing, Ianto helped Jack up and the pair saw Owen trying to get a pulse from Roy, whose head was in Lynn's lap. Lynn was in shock crying and looking up at the sky while rose petals continued to fall out of the dead man's mouth.

Looking towards the back, the fairies punched a hole in the newly repaired fence – and the little girl was nowhere to be seen.

'She's going to go with them,' Ianto said as he went for the hole in the fence. Jack immediately took hold of the young Welshman.

'You're not going without me,' he said.

'I am not stopping them, Jack. I could…but if she wants to go with them, I will not interfere. If she has accepted, then the Deal is set. Nothing can break it,' Ianto answered. 'Just so we understand each other.' Jack nodded and followed Ianto through the hole in the fence down to a clearing in the wood.

There was a little girl with long blonde hair and a white sundress standing at the mouth of the clearing.

'Jasmine,' Ianto said softly. The little girl turned to him and Jack and studied them closely.

'They don't like you,' she said bluntly. 'They tell me to stay away from you.'

'Which ones?' Ianto asked.

'All of them,' she answered, tossing her head. Ianto smiled coldly.

'No,' he said sharply. 'There are a few amongst them that I need to speak to. But first – are you sure this is what you want?' The little girl nodded.

'What about your mother?' Jack asked. 'Don't you want to stay with her?'

Jasmine gave Jack an evil little smile. 'What about her? She found Roy a few months after my father ran off. Who knows? Maybe he'll come back. I'm not worried…she's always known how to look out for herself,' the little girl answered cruelly.

'I can stop you,' Ianto answered evenly.

'And you want them to destroy the world…for me?' she asked.

'They didn't when they came looking for me,' Ianto replied. 'They are only playing with you. Once you go…you will never be who you are now – EVER AGAIN.'

'Who am I now?' she asked. 'They have shown me things. I have seen the past, the future – and ALL places and times in between. I have seen things I don't understand…but I want to. I want to go with them.'

The trees rustled around them as the Fairies gathered in the branches above them. As the creatures chattered amongst themselves, Ianto looked up to them.

'She will not be harmed?' he asked.

'NO!' Jack yelled – and Ianto put a firm hand on his shoulder.

'Stop Jack,' he said with authority.

'_You can do nothing_,' the creatures hissed at the Captain. '_You are too late. She belongs to us. She lives forever_.'

Ianto then got on his knees in front of the little girl. She looked at him with anger and _pride_ in her eyes. 'They could destroy the world! If they want to they could make great storms, wild seas! Turn the world to ice! Kill every living thing!'

'But then there would be no more like you,' Ianto answered. 'No more Chosen Ones.'

Jasmine shook her head. 'They'll find us – back through time,' she answered, her voice taking on the cadence of the Fairies.

As Ianto looked into her eyes, he saw beyond –

_And saw her with her brothers and sisters dancing around two girls with an old glass plate camera._

_As she helped taunt Mark Goodson before __**she**__ killed him_

_As she watched him now from the trees above_

- And came back to himself. He cupped the little girl's soft cheek tenderly.

'_Come away, O Human Child_,' the other Fairies chanted. '_Come away_.'

'Good life, Little Faire One,' Ianto said softly as he stood.

Jack then raised a hand out to Jasmine, then put it down as he looked to Ianto. 'She's already with them, isn't she?' he asked. Ianto simply nodded, then looked up to the creatures once more.

'Owain,' he called out. 'Cerys.' Two fairies dropped out of the trees and morphed their forms to beautiful adults dressed in medieval clothing. The man had long dark locks and Ianto's eyes. The woman's black hair hung straight past her waist and had Ianto's nose. 'Take care of her,' he said softly as he stepped back from Jasmine.

The young man smiled as he took Jasmine's hand. The little girl turned to Ianto and Jack smiling happily. 'Thank you,' she said simply and turned, skipping away into the wood with the man.

Jasmine's mother Lynn came down the path from their house screaming the little girl's name as she vanished in a white light with all of the other beings. The beautiful woman stood watching impassively as Jack and Owen held the screaming mother, who had now taken to hitting Jack with her fists.

'I'm sorry,' Jack murmured, holding the woman close to his chest. 'I'm so sorry.' Ianto turned and put his pointer finger in the center of Lynn's forehead. She immediately slumped down, unconscious. He then turned back to the being.

'_You can still be one of us, my Nephew_,' she whispered softly. '_There is always a place for you amongst us_.'

Ianto smiled, shaking his head. 'Thank you – but I must respectfully decline. I am my mother's Son, after all.'

The being hummed softly and nodded in understanding. '_Perhaps…one day_,' she said, leaving the sentence and the invitation open. She then began to glow white and, turning into a white butterfly, flitted away laughing.

~~TWTWTW~~

The mood was somber as Owen drove the SUV back. Ianto didn't need to be psychic to see he was angry. 'Spit it out, Owen,' he said softly.

'You,' he growled, keeping his eyes on the road in front of them. 'You could have fought them. You could have made her stay…could have saved her mother the heartache. You could have stopped this!'

Jack went to put his hand on Owen's shoulder – but Ianto's voice stopped him.

'Why?' he asked. 'What good would that have done?'

'She would have been here-,' Owen began.

'She never was, Owen,' Jack said, cutting off the medic's rant. 'She was one of them from the day she was born. She was always going to go with them.'

'So why didn't **he** go?' Owen asked, jerking a thumb towards Ianto in the backseat.

Ianto simply smiled at that. 'Those two that I called? Cerys was a Great Aunt of my mother's. Owain was another ancestor of my mother's from generations ago. Mam's family knew there was a possibility I'd go with them…but the Faire never came for me. Honestly, I know that was Mam's doing. But what exactly she did, I'll never know. After my leg got broken when I was ten, they stayed away. I wasn't child-like enough for them after that.'

'Why?' asked Owen, curious.

'Because…I understood the evil that men can do – and realized there was no realm that could protect me from it.' He sighed deeply then. 'That was the year I took an ancient saying to heart – "The Gods help those that help themselves."'

~~TWTWTW~~

The Hub was still as its resident suited pseudo spectre moved silently through its tunneled hallways to a nearly forgotten store room. Ianto stood in front of the doors and with a movement of his hand, they unlocked and slowly swung open. He stared into its darkened confines – and felt a presence behind him as a warm hand gripped his shoulder firmly. He turned slightly and smiled as _Owain_ glowed next to him.

'Your Captain awaits above to take you home,' he said softly. 'You should not be here, Cousin.'

Ianto chuckled softly. 'Neither should you…Cousin.'

_TBC…_

_A/N: Well – finished! And man, was this one long and hard! Minds – Out of the muck now! Twenty-eight pages in Word! So – next up: The Countrycide. I'm going to use a Stephen King title for this one – Danse Macabre. This is a piece of non-fiction King wrote dealing with horror in books, film and TV from the 50's to the 70's. And if cannibals don't fit in this category…then what does. Hopefully this has a bit of the flavor I'm looking for – because the only other title would have been 'Carrie' – and I thought that was just a cheap shot!_

_So – next chapter of The Archivist's Archives: The Danse Macabre._

_And thanks to everyone for your continued reading. Your reviews and support are like manna from heaven…by way of the World Wide Web…_

_D._


	4. Chapter 4: The Danse Macabre

_A/N: Heya B's & G's! Sorry about the delay (stories4 – this means you…lol!). My furry people say hi – Munchie's laid out on the transformers to my power supply cords while Clawdie is staring at me, trying for the thousandth time to use her Kitty Hypnosis…but I'm impervious to it! All I want to do is kiss and squish her – not get her canned tuna in oil…wow. Where'd __**that**__ come from? (Hehehe)_

_Anywho, the Countrycide episode…once again AU Psychic Ianto, so this is going to deal with everyone's reactions to the total display of his powers; from his co-workers, his lover, the rescued hiker and the cause of their country outing: the Cannibals. The title comes from the non-fiction work of Stephen King by the same name. Because seriously, cannibals are to horror what tie-dye fabrics are to hippies._

_So, without further ado – RTD & BBC own everything – not making a red cent off this. I give you – _

**Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives**

**Chapter Four: The Danse Macabre**

The second Jack mentioned a camping trip to Ianto; he knew it was a bad, capital B-A-D idea. But, ever the dutiful minion, he went into the Archive's storeroom and located the military surplus camping equipment. Bringing it into the main Hub to let it air out, he began cataloging how many pieces the tents should have – and whether or not he'd have to hunt down the missing parts. He also collected other items needed when camping and Torchwood were combined: cooking pots and utensils, cooler, sleeping bags, camp beds, food and drink. Also guns, ammo and bullet proof vests…a few stun guns wouldn't be amiss. It could end up as a hunting trip, after all.

~~TWTWTW~~

By morning everything was tucked into the boot of the SUV – and Ianto was tucked in between Gwen and Tosh as Jack drove and Owen rode shotgun. Owen **detested** the country; Ianto could feel the man's loathing rolling off of him like a physical entity.

'I HATE the countryside,' Owen groused aloud. 'It's dirty, it's unhygienic – and WHAT is that smell?'

Gwen at that moment chose to speak and Ianto immediately put his head down, trying desperately not to laugh out loud.

'It's grass,' she said, rolling her eyes.

'Well…it's disgusting!' Owen shot back, turning around to glare at her.

Tosh gripped Ianto's knee then, her eyes and mind positively _dancing_ with laughter. One look into her face and the fragile hold Ianto had on his own mirth was gone. The pair of them burst out laughing, followed immediately by Gwen and Jack, leaving Owen more upset than before.

~~TWTWTW~~

Half an hour later saw them in front of a burger and chip van on the side of the road. The others were studying the map while Ianto ordered burgers, chips, soda and water. He refused to attempt drinking their version of coffee, nor subject the others to it.

Jack felt guilty at not including Ianto, but the Welshman stilled the discomfort within his mind. _You were thinking about it loudly last night_, he said into the Captain's mind with a slight smirk on his lips.

Jack smiled at that.

Tosh had flat out refused a burger, even after Ianto had told her they were safe. She then told everyone the "Hepatitis from a Burger" story, turning Jack and Gwen off of theirs. Ianto made sure she ate her chips – it was going to be a while until he cooked later that evening.

In the end, Ianto had two extra burgers and two cans of Coke; everyone ate their chips. He smiled as they all piled back into the SUV and relished the idea of extra food.

_Never say no to good food, Yannie_, his Mam's voice said softly. Ianto's smile grew wider; his Mam was with him. That meant something big was going to happen…but he felt better all the same.

~~TWTWTW~~

'Aw – come on! It's just a bit of fun! Who's the last person you snogged?' Gwen called out.

'You even sound like an eight year old! Who the hell says "snog"?' Owen yelled back.

The question from Gwen's lips stopped Ianto in mid-opening of a camp bed, freezing the blood in his veins. He then felt Jack's soothing presence in his mind. _You were the last person I snogged, _he heard his lover say roguishly. _Among other things…_ Jack smirked warmly at Ianto from the SUV's passenger seat as he set the camp bed down so as to have a place to sit.

'Mine was Rhys,' Gwen continued, oblivious to the discourse between the two men.

'Well, there's a surprise,' Owen groused.

'Tosh, your go,' Gwen said, ignoring Owen's comment.

'It's easy for you,' Tosh began. Ianto felt for his dear friend.

_I could always toss her a few metres in the air_, he said into Tosh's mind. _Make her land on her mouth._

Tosh snorted aloud, then quickly collected herself. 'Owen – 3AM, Christmas Eve; waiting for a cab in front of The Millennium Centre. I had mistletoe.'

'Christmas? You…haven't had a snog since?' Owen asked.

'N-,' she began, then Ianto stood from the camp bed, and, taking Tosh into his arms, proceeded to kiss her with all he was worth. Tosh simply melted into the kiss while reminding herself to congratulate Jack on his wonderful find. Owen and Gwen gawped openly and Jack just smiled.

Ianto let go of Tosh and carefully set her on the camp bed. 'Now – you have,' he said softly as Jack climbed out of the SUV and sat next to her. Jack then grabbed Ianto, pulling him onto his lap and proceeded to snog him within an inch of his life.

Jack finally let Ianto up for air and sat him on his other side. Ianto adjusted his clothing and cleared his throat.

'Jack?' he asked his voice slightly higher than normal.

'You. And you?' Jack returned.

Ianto smiled. 'The delectable Miss Sato and you.' Ianto then turned to their medic. 'Owen?'

'Hm?' the medic asked, still shocked at what he had just witnessed.

'Close your mouth or you'll catch flies,' he said with a serious look – spoiled only by his growing smirk. Tosh and Gwen positively giggled as Owen sputtered. His chocolate eyes then narrowed on the Captain.

'I've said it before and I'll say it again,' he growled, pointing at Jack. 'I blame _you_ for his corruption.'

Everyone burst out laughing at that. Ianto continued to look at Owen. 'So,' he began. 'Your last snog?'

Owen was going to be nasty and say what happened the night of the Cyberwoman Incident between himself and Gwen (a big snog and a hard-on were involved), but then he realized why Ianto went to the lengths he did today. He was trying to protect Tosh.

'Some bird I met the other night at my local. Leggy bottle-blonde whose name escapes me,' he answered smartly.

_Thank you_, he heard Ianto say into his mind.

~~TWTWTW~~

As Ianto finished setting up the last of the camp beds and sleeping bags in the final tent, he felt the warmth of Jack's body pressed against his back. He coughed. 'Sir?'

'Yes, Ianto?'

'Is that a Webley in your pants – or are you just happy that we are alone for the moment?'

Jack chuckled at that, wrapping his arms around his favorite Welshman from behind. 'I'm thinking number two,' he purred into Ianto's ear as he nibbled on his earlobe and pulled him closer. He rolled his hips into the young man's pert rear and Ianto groaned appreciatively. He then came to himself.

'Sir,' Ianto said authoritatively, trying to extricate himself from Jack's octopus like hold. 'I am _not _having sex with you in the woods. There is some truth to Owen's claim of the country being unhygienic.' He then realized it was quiet outside…too quiet. 'Where are the others?'

'Gwen, Owen and Tosh went to look for firewood. That gives us - .'

'No time,' Ianto said suddenly, cutting Jack off. 'Something… Oh God!' He pulled away from Jack roughly and practically ran out of the tent, spinning in a slow circle in the center of the campsite. He stopped and looked to the outcropping overlooking the site above them. 'Someone is here,' he said just as Tosh came running out of the wood. 'We're being watched. From the hillside behind me; the outcropping.'

Jack nodded slightly as Tosh joined them. 'We…found,' she began, catching her breath.

'A carcass,' Ianto finished. She nodded tersely, the images of their discovery flashing into Ianto's mind. He then got a glimpse of the mind of their watcher – _The man was dead, bled out. They took him down from the meat hook in the ceiling and began cutting off the skin – to expose the meat. The chest was cracked open and buckets were placed by the carving table as the innards were cleaned out. The man doing the cutting, _Evan_, looked to the watcher, _Riley_, and spoke. 'Get me my cleaver.' – _And Ianto stumbled back into Jack.

He then looked up angrily and in horror to where he knew the watcher – _murderer!_ – was hiding and _**pulled**_ him towards them. Tosh and Jack watched with awe (Tosh) and pride (Jack) as the interloper squawked, being yanked from his protected hiding place by unseen aggressors and rolled off the outcropping to land heavily at their feet.

'It's not aliens, Jack. It's…_cannibals_,' Ianto explained, his anger and revulsion barely in check. 'Humans – killing and eating other humans. They've done this for generations…once a decade every decade…_The Harvest_. He left the carcass out there to distract us…he was hoping to take the SUV…to leave us stranded. He was hoping to please their leader…an Evan…Evan Sherman.'

The man on the ground simply stared up at Ianto in horror. 'How…how?' he stuttered.

Ianto looked at the man in anger and disgust as he moved to hit him. Jack had to step in the way. 'I am more human then you could ever claim to be!' he all but screeched. Jack held him at bay, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. 'You have no barriers in your mind!' Ianto continued. 'It's like a bloody sieve! Everything you think leaks out! And you _dare_ to call me inhuman…while your kind eats each other? And murders others? And you have no blessed reason as to why except that it is just something that you have always done?' Ianto had to turn away at that; he could no longer take the thoughts that were spilling out of Riley's mind.

The intruder got up from the ground then and pushed Jack aside, causing him to fall. He was intent on hurting Ianto. With a snarl and move of his hand, Ianto froze the man where he stood. Riley then raised his arms suddenly, clutching desperately at his neck as he began to choke while Ianto looked on with a satisfied expression on his face.

'Let him go…Vader,' Jack said softly as Tosh helped him up from the ground. Ianto looked to his Captain then – and chuckled softly. Riley fell onto his back gasping for breath. With another move of his hand, Riley stood up again, frozen once more and staring at his captors in horror.

'So,' Jack continued, looking to his Archivist. 'Tactical Assessment. What do we do next?' Ianto nodded, then closed his eyes.

'I've called Owen and Gwen,' he said softly as he opened his eyes. 'They're coming back. Leave the camp as it is…no one will disturb it. We need to move…and quickly.'

'Where are we going?' Jack asked as Gwen and Owen came down the same path Tosh had taken to reach them. Ianto looked to their captive.

'Where he came from – their village. The Big House – Community Meeting Hall. Wait…an Inn. There is one young man – hiker – Kieran. He's at the Inn. They…they pulled everyone out of it…twelve people. They've all been butchered…but Kieran's still alive. He's armed…got a shotgun. We're going to need all the firepower we've got,' Ianto rambled, a now familiar far-away look in his eyes.

~~o0o~~

It had been a few weeks since "The Faire Incident". Owen was still angry over the loss of the little girl…she was too much of a reminder of Katie. _Jasmine…the Princess of _"Aladdin". Five years and it still hurt like Hell. Truth be told, he sympathized with the Tea Boy a lot more than he wanted to admit. But he also knew that Ianto knew…and understood. And in the end that was all that mattered.

He also knew many of Ianto's quirks by now; after all, he did know how to read signs. But the problems the boy suffered from were not your garden variety psychoses or PTSD from Canary Wharf. His problems would have driven the average headshrink round the bend. But he figured between himself, Jack and the girls…Ianto would be just fine.

~~o0o~~

Gwen knew Ianto had everyone's interests at heart, but in the beginning she wondered if he felt threatened by her relationship with the Captain. After the snogging display with both Tosh _and_ Jack, however, she realized he was far more sure of himself than in the past.

Jack was more platonic at best with his feelings towards her – but she understood she would never hold the place in his heart that Ianto had. She had Rhys – and a _nice, normal life_ outside of Torchwood.

Ianto never had nor ever would have anything like that.

And yet, even as Owen grumbled about "The Tea Boy" letting Jasmine go, she also understood that Ianto made sure she and Tosh were safe – and made sure the Faire hadn't bothered them. She had read the autopsy reports of both Mark Goodson and Lynn Pierce's boyfriend, Roy, and came to the conclusion that Ianto did a great deal to protect them all.

~~o0o~~

Tosh looked to Jack and Ianto – the two men that she admired and trusted. The two saviors in her life. She would follow them to Hell and beyond. Jack saved her from the Hell that was a UNIT detention. Ianto…he saved her from the Hell that was loneliness – by letting her know he loved her – and being a good friend.

~~o0o~~

Ianto looked to everyone gathered, even the cannibal Riley, _the enemy_. He then looked to Jack and held the gaze of his Captain…his lover…his friend. 'We'll need the vests I packed. And the shot guns.'

'What about him?' Owen asked pointing at their paralyzed prisoner.

'Leave him to me,' Ianto said coldly, turning to the terrified man.

_Ianto_, he heard Jack say into his mind. He turned to face his Captain. _Do not kill him._

_I won't,_ he answered as he walked towards the man. 'Just to let you know,' Ianto said as he took hold of their prisoner's head. 'It's been a while since I've done this…so it's gonna hurt…A LOT.' Ianto closed his eyes then and leaned his head into Riley's forehead. The other man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and began howling as Ianto gritted his teeth and held on – rifling through his memories – getting _everything_ of importance. Finding out all of the _intimate_ details of their…_prey_.

Riley started screaming the second Ianto laid hands on him and didn't stop until he let him go and fell into Jack in a daze – five minutes later. Riley fell to the ground hard and Owen immediately rushed over…and checked Ianto first.

'Ianto?' he called out softly as he began checking his vitals. 'You still with us?'

'I'm all right, Owen,' Ianto answered, his speech slightly slurred as he grasped Jack's arms that were wrapped around him. 'Like I said before – no barriers in his mind. When the information started coming – it was like standing in front of a flash flood. That and I've not done anything like this since-,' and his voice died away. The others understood the rest of that sentence to be "Torchwood London".

Jack squeezed his hand as he helped him up from the floor. 'Do not hurt yourself, Jones,' Jack said, once again in full _Captain Harkness Mode_.

Ianto nodded, a grim look on his face. 'I will not fail you, Captain.'

Owen then checked the prisoner and gave him a quick injection. 'He'll be out for a few hours now – just wanted to make sure he stayed out of our way,' he said in explanation.

'Good,' Jack answered going to the boot of the SUV and pulling out gear. 'Here's rope and handcuffs. Ladies – don't be too kind.'

Gwen and Tosh nodded as Gwen took the cuffs and Tosh the rope.

'We have to go to the Inn first,' Ianto said. 'Kieran – the hiker? He's almost mad with worry.'

'Sounds like a plan,' Jack answered, nodding. 'How far away and is it being watched?'

'About four miles – and yes; it is being watched. At least two…maybe three people. The entire village is involved. We are going to need help, Jack.'

Owen whistled at that. 'How many people are we talking about here, Ianto?'

'Twenty-two adults. Fifteen in their mid thirties and older – seven like this one, ten teenagers and six children ranging in age from six months to nine years old. One seventeen year old girl is watching them. But don't let her cute-and-innocent act fool you; she's as much a killer as the rest of them.'

'How many will be in The Big House?' Gwen asked as she and Tosh finished tying Riley up. Jack began handing out the bullet proof vests and everyone began strapping themselves in.

'Whoever isn't dealing with us will be in that Big House. Oh! There's one of them that's the local constable – name's Huw,' Ianto answered.

'So – twenty three?' Jack asked.

Ianto nodded. 'The teenagers and children are all in a house on one of the first homesteads…about three miles from The Big House.'

'Okay,' Jack said, pulling on his greatcoat over the vest, grateful for its warmth. The sun was going down and they were losing its light and heat. 'Thanks to Ianto, we have the equipment and intel to get through this. Tosh? Call UNIT. These people already have one of their own with the local constabulary, I'm not inclined to trust them.' He then looked at his team – all grim faced, suited with bullet proof vests and shot guns. 'We're outnumbered until help arrives – so _no heroics_.' He looked pointedly at Ianto at the end of his sentence. 'Whatever we do – we do it together.'

The others nodded in agreement, but Ianto did not. As Tosh climbed into the SUV to make the connection with UNIT, Jack walked over to Ianto.

'I can't agree Jack. And you already know that. If I have to do…_something drastic_…I am the only one who can do this,' he said unapologetically.

Jack simply looked the young man in the eye. 'No matter what…just. Try to come back to me whole and relatively sane, okay?'

Ianto nodded, giving Jack his patented smirk. 'I can try,' he said softly.

'Jack,' Tosh called out from inside the SUV. 'I've got General Mace online.'

The Captain kissed his Tea Boy lightly on his lips. 'On my way,' he called out as he turned towards the SUV.

~~TW o0o TW~~

Jack made sure that Tosh and Ianto were well out of the way of the video feeds as he and Owen gave Mace a rundown of the more gruesome of their discoveries. The normally stalwart General blanched considerably and assured Jack help would arrive within three hours. Could they hold out until then?

He and Owen looked at each other grimly. 'We'll let you know in about three hours,' he answered without mirth. 'Just get out here as soon as you can.'

Mace nodded again, saluting the Captain. 'Good luck, Captain Harkness,' he replied, giving Jack a smile.

'Thank you, General,' Jack answered. 'Signing off,' and he disconnected the call.

'You didn't mention Ianto to them,' Owen said once the call ended.

'They were interested in him as a child. His mother worked for UNIT and left permanently after Ianto was born,' Jack explained, trying to keep his mind cloaked and his voice low. 'When he graduated university there was an incident during the dinner for the graduates.'

'What happened?' Owen asked.

'The twat of a colonel UNIT sent got his forearm snapped into two perfect pieces and twelve of the bones in his hand broken because he tried to stop me from walking away after I told him to piss off,' Ianto answered from behind them. Jack looked down to the SUV's carpeting in guilt; Owen stared at him in shock. 'At the time I thought they were the cause of my mother's death. I found out later it was just bad luck and bad brakes,' he continued, putting his hand over Jack's. Jack turned his own hand and squeezed Ianto's in return. 'Who knows what would have happened if UNIT had gotten a hold of me before Torchwood?' he asked softly, looking at Owen.

Owen and Tosh came over then and Owen took hold of Tosh's hand, trying to still the worried look in her eyes. He then looked to Ianto. 'They won't learn a thing,' he said resolutely. 'You're both Torchwood – and we take care of our own. I did bring a few Retcon tabs…just in case,' he finished cheekily.

Jack nodded, then looked up to the darkening sky. 'We should to that hiker – what's his name again?'

'Kieran,' Ianto answered.

'We drive to the Inn to get him out,' Jack began. 'Then what?'

Ianto took a deep breath – _and reached out_. 'We can go to the pub on the lower floor – use that as a base of operations. We can make up some sandwiches with what I brought. We need to keep up our strength,' he said.

Owen and Jack nodded in agreement. 'Sounds like a plan,' the medic added.

~~TWTWTW~~

Once the unconscious prisoner was loaded into the boot, the extra ammo and food cooler was put in beside him and everyone piled into the SUV. Owen, Gwen and Tosh decided it would be best if Ianto sat up front, just in case he needed to use his abilities. He nodded and slipped in next to Jack, shocked and embarrassed how accepting his co-workers, strike that, _friends_, were of his gifts.

Fifteen minutes later saw them pulling up to the Inn without incident. Tosh, Gwen and Owen moved immediately into the Inn, carrying the prisoner, ammo and gear. Ianto and Jack went to the rear of the building where the let rooms were located. Ianto pointed to one of the doors.

'Jack,' he said softly. 'He's terrified. The door is secured from the inside and he's pointing a shotgun at it.'

'Then let me take care of it,' Jack answered, yanking the door open. The answering blast threw the pair of them onto their backs. Jack took the brunt of it – and for a split second thought he dodged the buck shot – and then the pain kicked in. Ianto sat up and immediately looked to the terrified boy clambered on the staircase and held his hand up to him.

'_Kieran_,' he said with authority. '_Put down the weapon – or else someone could get hurt_.' Without question, the boy dropped the gun.

'I'm sorry,' he cried, completely distraught as Jack writhed in pain on the stone step. 'I thought…I thought you were _one of them_!'

Ianto nodded in understanding. 'It's okay,' he said looking to Jack. 'He'll be fine.' He then looked at the young man again and realized just _how_ young he was. He then felt the presence of others – and knew they were being watched…by at least two men. 'Go around to the pub; let our medic Owen know what happened. Quickly! And…keep the shotgun close.' The boy nodded nervously and Ianto put a comforting hand on his shoulder. 'Breathe, Kieran. You are no good to us if you pass out now. You'll be fine…so long as you keep your head.'

As Kieran trotted away, Ianto knelt down beside Jack and opened his coat. It received the worst of the powder burns, blackening the front. He then began pulling open the bullet proof vest. Every time he loosened a Velcro strap, a groan of pain escaped Jack. Ianto then sat beside the fallen man and pulled his head into his lap.

'You…are an idiot, Captain,' he said affectionately as he carded the man's hair with his hand. The vests were not designed to take a full shot gun blast like that at close range. It stopped some of the pellets, but the majority of them missed the Kevlar plate entirely – and went straight into you.' He then held his hand out over the Captain's lower chest. 'You'll heal faster if I get the buckshot out of you. Hang on, this is going to hurt.'

Jack then groaned loudly, gripping Ianto's other hand as the pellets were pulled out of his skin and hovered above his wound. Owen came around the corner and watched in wonder as all of the bloodied pellets hit the stone step beside the Captain. The doctor immediately rushed over and checked on his patient.

'You should be bleeding to death,' he said conversationally as he looked to Ianto pointedly. Tosh and Owen still did not know of Jack's…longevity and Ianto knew he didn't want them to know…yet.

'I accelerated his healing process a bit,' Ianto supplied. Owen looked to him a little surprised, then nodded his head. 'We can wrap this up at the pub,' he said as he looked to them both. 'We're being watched, right?'

Ianto nodded.

'Good – cuz the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up. Wanted to make sure there was a reason for that,' he answered. Pulling the Velcro straps on the bullet proof vest closed again earned a loud yell from Jack, who was woozy from blood loss. 'Can you stand?' Owen asked.

Jack shook his head. 'Not alone.'

'Then a little help, Ianto,' he said. Ianto looked to his wounded lover – _and he began to float_. He then caught sight of all the blood and small pellet holes burned into the thick wool.

'If you'd only listened,' he said in mock anger as he walked behind the man floating in front of him. 'You're going to be without that coat of yours for a while now.'

'I…wanted to make sure…I was the only one hit,' he said groaning as Ianto manoeuvred him around the building to the pub side in the front.

'I can take care of myself, Jack,' Ianto replied, a little more than put out. Jack reached out and caught Ianto's arm and he floated down to the floor of the pub on his feet.

'I know…I just…wanted to make sure you were safe. They need you…now more than ever,' Jack answered as Owen and Ianto sat him on a pub stool.

'And I need you, Jack Harkness,' Ianto whispered, kissing his Captain's cheek.

'Well…it could have been much worse,' Owen said as he opened the vest again and gave the injuries a cursory glance. 'No stitches…just a lot of cuts and stippling due to the buckshot. Let me clean you up and get some gauze on your injuries. You should be fine.'

Ianto stood up to help Owen, when he gasped and doubled over. They could hear Gwen gagging and retching in the kitchen. Tosh quickly left the main room going towards the kitchen.

'Body,' Ianto said in explanation. 'Half…half cut up. Not a pretty sight. Near the freezer in the back. There are a few others in the Inn….and. We have a visitor upstairs,' he continued, looking to the ceiling, almost as if he could see through it. 'Owen – you got Jack?' The medic nodded. 'Tosh has Gwen, and I'll take care of our company,' he said, holding his right hand straight up and open out in front of him. And then he closed it into a fist quickly. A loud crash was heard upstairs, as if someone fell into furniture, followed by screams and loud cursing.

'Great,' murmured Owen as he finished taping the last of the gauze on Jack's abdomen in place. 'Sounds like we've got a loud one.'

Tosh and Gwen came in at that; Gwen was pale and shaken as Owen sat her down next to Jack and began checking her vitals. Kieran was sitting on the same bench, jumping every time a curse, scream or movement of furniture was heard from above.

Ianto then turned to Kieran. 'It's all right,' he said softly. 'Keep watching. You may enjoy this.' He then turned to the others. Jack slipped on a grey button up jumper Ianto had put in the SUV a few days earlier at Mam's suggestion. Tosh had the forethought to bring it in with the other things. 'Here we go,' he said simply as he closed his eyes and moved his closed right hand over his head towards the steps. Banging and the sounds of a body being dragged along the hallway could be heard as well as breaking crockery and glass. Curses in English and Welsh were screamed as a man's body was flung down the steps, landing heavily with the unmistakable crunch of broken bones as he fell on his forearm on the main floor of the pub.

The jumper Jack was wearing was a grey monstrosity that Rhiannon had given Ianto a few Christmases before. His Mam had suggested that Jack would look good in it – and she was right. Then again, Jack could make burlap look stunning. But at the moment he wore the same look everyone else had on their faces: one of righteous indignation, revulsion and sorrow for those lost. Ianto looked to Jack – and Jack looked into his Welshman's eyes.

_Do not gauge the rest of us mere mortals against these…rejects_, he heard Ianto's voice say smoothly into his mind. _We do better, Captain. If nothing else, __**you**__ are proof of that._

Jack nodded, then looked to their new prisoner. 'Where's the other one?'

'We dumped him in the kitchen,' Tosh answered. 'I…put a tarp over the body in there.'

'It's just **meat**!' the man yelled, but Owen gave him a quick kick to the face, ending any further speech.

'No,' Ianto answered coldly. 'They were people – no matter how trivial Evan tries to make it. You kill **people** to **eat** them.'

Jack looked to Owen and the both of them pulled the man to his feet. The man cried out as he stood up on his feet. 'His arm is broken,' Owen said grimly. Jack grew impatient as Owen set to putting the man's arm in a splint.

'Ianto,' Jack said in a commanding tone as Owen finished. He nodded towards the prisoner. 'New intel – get it.'

Ianto looked to his Captain, slightly aroused at the commanding tone the man had adopted. 'Of course…Sir,' he said with just the right amount of inflection in his voice. Jack smirked.

'Oi! Get a room you two!' Owen groaned. The man between Jack and Owen looked on in horror. 'What?' Owen barked at the prisoner. 'You eat people yet you've never seen two people of the same sex in love?'

Jack and Ianto both started at that. Gwen and Tosh started laughing then – the ridiculousness of the outing finally complete.

_Are we in love?_ Ianto asked Jack. Jack sighed and looked into the face of his…what was he? Ianto wasn't an in-between for him. He wasn't a substitute for Gwen as he'd overheard Tosh and Owen speculating once. He most certainly wasn't a fuck buddy – or a friend with benefits. It had been a _long_ time since he had felt for someone – _anyone_ – like the way he felt for Ianto. _He wanted to take him with him when he went away for The Goddess's sake!_ He looked into the slightly worried, beautiful cerulean blue eyes of his _LOVER_.

_I've never been before_, he confessed quietly into Ianto's mind._ But if anything happened to you…and you were taken from me… I'd destroy universes to get you back. I think…I think I love you, Jones, Ianto Jones._

Ianto smiled softly. 'Task at hand, Captain,' he answered aloud. _And I think I love you as well_, Jack heard _his_ Welshman say into his mind.

~~TWTWTW~~

Ianto couldn't get much out of their new captive – his name was Clive and was a bit of the Village Idiot. So, he wasn't told very much and was used more like the brawn of their twisted operation. He was there to collect the carcasses and put them in the pub's walk-in freezer. Owen went into it to confirm the information gathered – and promptly threw up once he came out.

As Ianto saw further into Clive's mind – _he was there to store the carcasses in the freezer to keep them until spring when he could use the machinery to grind them into a bone meal…to fertilize the fields for __**their crops**_ – he couldn't deal with the images pouring out of the man's head – so he _did something_ to Clive. He was still breathing, but what little wit he had before was now completely gone.

Jack caught Ianto when he fell after disconnecting from Clive's mind – and hadn't let go of him since. Owen put Clive with Riley and lightly sedated him. Just because he wasn't with the program now didn't mean he wouldn't become a problem later.

Everyone had a quiet meal of tuna fish sandwiches, instant soups and bottled water – no one was going to look at meat the same way for a while. Ianto lay between Jack's legs, his back against the other man's chest. Jack had his own back against the hearth of the stone fireplace that dominated the main area of the pub. After eating, Kieran passed out in the pub's booths. He had been up for almost forty-eight hours straight – and this was the first time he was relaxed enough to actually sleep.

Ianto had suggested that they light a fire in the fireplace – it would give light and warmth as night had fully taken hold and the pub had become cold. Jack was on the Satellite Phone with UNIT – Mace assured him backup would be at his location within an hour – and Jack told the General to be careful of the local constabulary because one of the perpetrators was a constable. Mace understood – and asked Jack to keep his team and the survivor safe. Just as Jack was about to sign off, the electricity went out.

'Get here, Mace,' Jack growled into the phone as he cocked his Webley and aimed it at the door. 'These people play for keeps.' He then rung off.

Ianto was leaning against Jack until he pulled out his Webley. He now stood and gave a quick look around the periphery of the place. 'Cellar door – put a chair under the knob. Don't get too close to the front door; they're going to rush it. And be careful – they are not without resources,' he said softly. Tosh immediately put a chair under the door knob against the cellar door as Gwen and Owen made sure the barricade they'd set up at the front door held.

Kieran awoke when the banging on the doors started. Ianto again looked to the others, silently asking their permission.

'We'll all be here for you,' Jack said softly as Gwen tried to calm Kieran down. The cellar door being hit with something solid added to the young man's growing cries.

'You don't know what they're like! You…you haven't _seen_!' he screeched, his almost deathgrip on the shotgun that never left his side tightening.

Ianto then turned to the hiker. 'It's all right, Kieran. Please…calm down-.' The rest of what he was about to say was cut off as the front door burst open, flinging chairs and barstools about the entryway. A barstool flew towards Ianto, who turned around and with his outstretched hand _**pushed it back**_. It hit a hooded man in the face and he fell heavily to the ground outside. Two bricks were thrown through the windows at the front of the pub, shattering the windows on contact. And, like the cup and saucer from a few weeks before, the incident reversed itself and the bricks flew back out the windows as the shattered glass jumped off the floor and back into the window, whole and undamaged. The two who threw the bricks both fell to the ground, crying out – then went still.

The banging on the cellar door stopped as the man there called to his companions, trying to figure out what was going on. 'Caddoc! Mael! Daffyd!'

Only silence answered the man as the door he was trying to get through opened and he was yanked into the pub. He fought with a tall man wearing a grey jumper and braces as two women went down the steps towards the outside opening and secured the double doors. As they came up and barricaded the cellar door once more, three other men came through the front door dragging his accomplices in. Daffyd tried to run from the boy – Kieran – but one man, dark hair with crystal blue eyes simply touched Daffyd's forehead and he fell hard to the floor unconscious. Caddoc and Mael walked in dutifully and were handcuffed to chairs in the center of the pub. The man that he was still hanging onto threw him into an empty chair and a dark haired man with brown eyes hand cuffed him into it.

The blue-eyed man then looked at the four of them, then turned to the man in the jumper. 'Pick one, Captain,' he said softly.

'The one I was dancing with,' the Captain growled with an American accent.

'Merrick Humphreys,' Ianto began as he walked in a circle around the bound man. 'He studied in seminary school – yet always returned for the Harvest. He's their…Reverend. Brings a _whole_ new meaning to 'The Eating of the Body', doesn't it?' he growled. He then looked to Merrick. 'You defiled your own religion and allowed this…practice…to invade and taint everyone and everything around it. The Sheppard…leading his flock to their doom.'

'Or yours,' Merrick shot back. The blue eyed man stopped circling Merrick and crouched low, staring into his eyes…and Merrick _felt himself just float away_.

~~ o0o ~~

'I'm in,' both Ianto and Merrick said at the same time.

Jack smiled at that. 'Good God,' he breathed. 'What else did you learn at One?'

'I'll show you an old paystub sometime,' both men said to the Captain, smiling. 'Merrick's still here – but he's of no consequence. I could use him to get to Evan.'

Jack shook his head. 'No. I want you out of him and here, Ianto. Sherman will come to us – we don't need to go to him.'

'Okay,' both men said and Merrick suddenly slumped down in the chair unconscious. Ianto exhaled a long, deep breath and looked up at Jack, his eyes so blue the Immortal swore that they could not be human. 'I'm all yours,' he said softly.

Jack licked his lips and adjusted his suddenly too tight pants. _Later_, his voice echoed into Ianto's mind. Ianto simply smiled. Jack then turned to Owen. 'Take care of these men.' Owen moved to get his medical kit when the two bound men still conscious started screaming, tugging at their bonds. Ianto simply held his left hand open to them and closed it into a fist in front of them.

'**Silence**,' he whispered harshly. '**Be still! And be grateful. We are showing you far more mercy then you have ever shown others**.'

The men simply froze and Owen gave them a half ampoule of sedative each. Enough to knock them out – but not enough to kill them. At least not yet. Then between him, Ianto and Jack, they moved all the men into the kitchen with the others there.

When the men returned, Kieran looked at them expectantly. 'What about the children? You said there was a house where the young ones and teenagers were kept? What…what if they come out…and end up here?' he asked hesitantly.

'Or what if the kids decide to show up on their own?' Owen asked.

'We have to make sure the kids stay put,' Jack answered running a hand through his hair. 'But how?'

'Me,' Ianto said softly, making everyone present turn to him. He in turn sat on the floor and crossed his legs in the lotus position. 'It'll take a few minutes. Just…don't touch me until I am done…okay?' He then closed his eyes…and _**reached out**_.

Everyone felt a change in the air of the building – as if it had been charged with static electricity. Ianto began to _glow_. It was a beautiful, placid color…that Jack realized was the color of Ianto's eyes when he used his abilities. It was at that moment that he knew he loved Ianto Jones more than any being in the universe – even more than The Doctor. He turned to the others – Gwen and Tosh were crying softly and even Owen was teary eyes. Kieran was holding onto Gwen, his mouth open as tears streamed down his face. And then, the light was absorbed back into Ianto and he took in a deep, cleansing breath and exhaled in slowly, allowing his eyelids to drift open slowly.

'Is…

is everyone all right?' he asked as he took in their tear stained faces and red rimmed eyes.

Owen was the first to respond – by pulling the young man off the floor and hugging him tightly. Tosh and Gwen followed suit, hugging and kissing him while apologizing for their past treatment and promising changes for the better. Jack then cleared his throat and everyone stepped back.

'It is done, Captain,' Ianto said evenly. 'The children are all sleeping – including their she-devil of a minder. I think we should get ready for visitors – Evan called the girl – Petra, his daughter – to see if she had heard anything from these men. I may have to use Martin after all.'

Jack shook his head again. 'You've gone almost too far, Ianto. I know you are beyond tired…Mace will be here soon enough. The SUV is outside and UNIT is using its GPS transponder to find us.'

'I could always help them find us,' Ianto offered.

'_**NO**_!' Tosh, Gwen and Owen yelled before Jack had a chance to give his opinion. Both he and Ianto turned to find four worried faces staring back. Even Kieran was concerned.

'No, Ianto,' Jack said softly as he turned back and moved closer to his lover. Tenderly, he cupped the young man's face within his hand. 'We can take it from here. 'Rest…please.' Ianto nodded, nuzzling Jack's hand and turned to rest in one of the booths. Kieran wandered over and sat in the other bench of the booth. Ianto accommodated himself, tucking his jacket into a pillow while the younger man gathered his thoughts.

'How…how do you do those things? It's…it's like watching '_Heroes_' on telly or something,' he said, his voice filled with nervous excitement and wonder.

Ianto sighed, smiling softly at the young man's reaction. 'I was born with these…abilities. A division of our organization based in London trained me in how to control and use them. I was trained to save people for the greater good. The people I work with now…the Earth would be lost without them.'

Kieran nodded, processing the information given. 'Why are the others afraid of what UNIT would do?' he asked. Ianto smiled again; this kid was a keeper. They were definitely going to have to keep tabs on him after this. Maybe once he completed his university studies…Torchwood would be in his future.

'Tosh has had a bad history with them…and they've wanted me for a very long time,' Ianto answered.

'Because of what you can do?' Ianto nodded. 'Wow,' the boy said after a bit. 'Well…they won't be hearing anything from me.'

Ianto smiled broadly. _Oh yes…definitely keeping an eye on this one_. 'Thank you, Kieran,' he answered softly.

~~TW o0o TW~~

Thirty minutes later Jack was waking Ianto from a light doze. 'How bas is it?' he asked as he looked to Jack's worried face.

'Mace called – they've got the constable in custody. He's about ten minutes away – but Sherman and his people are outside and armed. Can…can you do to them what you did to the kids?'

Ianto shook his head. 'The children were easy – but the adults will fight me. I may…I could kill them.'

'Then DO IT!' Kieran screamed suddenly. 'Bastards killed my mates and then trussed them up like…carcasses at a slaughterhouse. Then they chopped them up like…pigs! Or cows!' They don't deserve to live!'

Ianto put a steadying hand on Kieran's shoulder. 'It's all right,' he said soothingly. 'I am so sorry about your friends…but anger like that does no one well. They are evil – and they will pay for what they have done one way or another.' He turned to Jack. 'If they attack Captain, then I will deal with them. Their Harvest ends tonight…with them.'

The embers in the fireplace gave weak light as everyone took positions by the front windows and covering the front door. Ianto stood a little behind everyone; he was very tired – but as Jack had suspected earlier – it had nothing to do with bad sleep. Ianto had pushed himself to the limit of his abilities. And now…he was going far beyond.

A rock was thrown at one of the windows and it broke Ianto out of his reverie. However, instead of breaking the window, the rock ricocheted back to where it was thrown from. Jack turned to Ianto, smiling broadly. Ianto had told the Captain earlier he had "tweaked the molecular structure of the glass slightly". Now Jack knew and felt an even stronger connection to the young man. Ianto had changed the glass – into a clear, crystal like rubber.

Ianto simply basked in the love and surprise that came from the Captain for him in waves. It wasn't a "think" thing for either of them. They _loved_ each other – but first things first. Their attackers had started firing shotguns at the windows and doors – a few had even thrown Molotov cocktails onto the roof of the Inn. Ianto closed his eyes and outstretched his hand towards the outside – and the cannibals. He was _searching_ amongst them – trying to find any with a sliver of doubt; that wanted to get out and away from this…situation. After a few minutes later he lowered his hand sadly. He found nothing…but _pride_. They ALL were in this together… Ianto looked to his Captain, the others inside had held their positions and had not fired a single shot. They were waiting for Jack to give the signal. _I love you, Jack_, he whispered as he closed his eyes again.

A wind suddenly blew out of the flats and blew the fire out on the roof. The remaining adults outside looked up in puzzlement, then looked to the Inn as a bright blue light glowed inside of it.

_An eye for an eye_, they all heard a voice say, echoing in the courtyard around them. _A tooth for a tooth_. A woman standing near a man in the front turned to him.

'Evan,' she called out softly – and one by one all of the adults began screaming, dropping their shotguns and grabbing their heads in pain. The door opened – and a young man walked out towards them. He was the source of the light – he opened his eyes and Evan watched as the others, including the woman next to him (his wife), fell to their knees screaming louder while blood ran from their eyes, ears and noses.

Evan Sherman, the leader of their village, had himself taken part in four Harvests before this one. The boy getting away after they had taken everyone out of the Inn was a mistake; only now did he see it as a fatal mistake. He had seen many strange things during the Harvests– but never anything like this. He watched as all of his friends, cousins and friends fell screaming in pain, writhing on the gravel patch in front of the Inn. He remembered when his Tad and Tad-cu had built the patch. His Tad-cu called the place a "corral for the meat". He could feel the pain the others were feeling, he could see the blood trickling from his eyes, blurring his vision…but he could still see the young man _glowing_.

'What have you done?' he screamed, raising his shotgun with shaking hands. 'What…witchcraft? You…you are killing my kin!'

_As you would have killed mine_, the young man said _without opening his mouth_! Evan looked to the man, totally dumbfounded, when a resounding snap was heard. As he fell he realized the noise was the sound of his own spinal column breaking. The young man walked over to him, then looked to the other cannibals on the ground. They had long since stopped moving. The wind picked up as the man got closer; picking up small pebbles and dirt and the sound was almost deafening. And yet Evan heard what the man with unearthly blue eyes said next quite clearly.

'As you would have killed mine. As you have killed so many others…an eye for an eye,' he repeated aloud. Evan just opened his mouth – and started to scream.

Jack ran out of the pub towards Ianto. He took hold of his Welshman and wrapped his arms around his slender waist and kissed his lips tenderly. 'Ianto,' he whispered. The young man turned to him, his face contorted with sorrow. 'Let it go, Yan,' he whispered tenderly. 'Please…please come back to me.'

Ianto looked into the worried face of his lover – and exhaled as his eyes fluttered shut. He fell into Jack's body unconscious – and the wind and its roaring noise was gone. All that was left were the moans and screams from the villagers. And in the distance Jack saw headlamps light the darkness. UNIT had finally arrived.

'Better late than never,' Jack muttered softly as he held the young man against his body. 'Jones, Ianto Jones,' he said lovingly as he carded his hand through the other's hair. 'You came back to me…you came back to me.'

~~TW o0o TW~~

Tosh, Kieran and Ianto stayed within the darkened confines of the SUV while the others dealt with the clean-up along with UNIT. The community hall – The Big House as the locals called it – was a charnel house. Bodies were hung from the rafters by meat hooks and wrapped in plastic – waiting for carving. Ianto's battered mental defences could barely deal with the onslaught of the UNIT soldiers gruesome discoveries. Owen suggested a stronger sedative once Ianto came to – and he accepted without question. He now slept blissfully unaware while being watched over by the team's technical expert and their rescued hiker.

Once the local authorities were cleared, ambulances were allowed in to transport all the prisoners to hospitals or straight to UNIT detention centres, depending on their conditions. General Mace agreed it was probably for the best – in the cellar of The Big House, they found clothing and possessions of missing people dating as far back as the 1920's. Jack, Owen and Gwen grimaced as Mace imparted that bit of information to them. Owen then suggested that perhaps they should get going since there was a camp site that they needed to take down.

Jack looked to the rising sun and smiled. 'We could rest there a bit and get back to Cardiff by tonight,' he offered. Owen and Gwen simply stared at him. 'Joke,' he said quickly. The two turned towards the SUV and Jack moved to follow when Mace's question stopped him.

'And where are Mr. Jones and Ms. Sato?' he asked carefully.

Jack turned, his arms folded across his chest, and looked the General dead in the eyes. 'Who's asking – UNIT?' he asked a little harshly.

'An admirer of their work,' the General answered softly. 'And a man that is happy Ms. Sato was given a second chance.'

Jack loosened his stance at that. 'They're both in Cardiff probably going mad with worry because we haven't contacted them,' Jack lied smoothly.

Mace gave him a knowing smile as he moved to stand closer to the Captain. 'I knew Mary Eileen Jones well, Captain Harkness. Keep her boy safe – as well as the Japanese Princess. I'll make sure nothing of either of them makes it into our reports.'

Jack looked to the General slightly dumbfounded. 'Why?' he finally asked.

'At the behest and request of one Brigadier General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, retired. He asked that you ring him when you get back – he and Doris would love to have you and your team for tea sometime soon. Especially Mr. Jones. He may have something for him.'

Jack smiled softly. 'Thanks Thomas,' he said as he saluted the General. 'Sir.'

Mace returned the salute. 'Captain, a pleasure and an interesting situation. We really have to stop meeting like this.'

Jack's smile grew at that. 'General,' he called behind him as he began walking towards the SUV. 'You wouldn't want it any other way.'

~~TW o0o TW~~

The drive to the campsite was a bit cramped, but everyone made the best of it. Owen drove while Jack sat up front with Ianto on his lap, sleeping heavily on his shoulder. Gwen, Tosh and Kieran sat in the back. After careful discussion, they all decided he deserved to keep his memories. Jack had offered Retcon, but the young man politely refused using one of Ianto's favorite quotes: _That which does not destroy me, makes me stronger_.

While the rest of the team was breaking down the camp, Kieran and Ianto had time to talk inside the SUV. Ianto had given him his mobile number and told him to call anytime – day or night. He knew the boy would need help and offered to find someone for him to talk to if it became too much to deal with alone. By the time they made to Kieran's home in Newport – his entire family was waiting outside in the bright sunshine – along with the press. Owen and Gwen were quick to bundle the reporters and cameras away while Jack, Tosh and Ianto ushered Kieran inside.

Jack immediately took Kieran's mother aside and spoke with her privately along with Ianto. After a long forty minute conversation – and leaving mobile numbers with her just in case, the Torchwood team were finally off.

Twelve hours after Jack had gotten everyone home and Ianto bathed, drugged up and in bed; Ianto's door bell rang. Jack picked up the phone and buzzed the callers in. He opened the door and smiled ruefully at Gwen, Owen and Tosh standing in the stairwell with pizza, DVDs, lagers and groceries as offerings.

'I would have brought you all here if you'd just spoken up earlier,' he said as he ushered them all in.

The lights in the lounge were put on the dimmer and candles Ianto had dotted around the room were lit. Jack pulled open one of the terrace doors and was pulling back the curtains when Ianto appeared in the hallway behind them in his pyjamas, with his hair askew and adorably scruffy from sleep. Tosh gathered him in her arms and asked how he was feeling. He looked around slightly unsure. Then he felt the love and acceptance from the team – _his friends _ – and his boss – _the love of his life_ – and smiled softly.

'I feel fine,' he answered as he looked to the pizza. 'Please tell me that has no meat,' he said, gesturing towards the box.

Everyone laughed at that and as Jack busied himself with glasses for the lager and plates for the pizza, Tosh and Gwen put away the groceries. He could hear Owen and Ianto discussing the latest football scores as Ianto looked through the DVD rental selections. They were all home and safe – and looking into the calm blue eyes of _his_ Ianto – there was no other place that he wanted to be.

TBC

_A/N: So hopefully you liked my offering for Countrycide. Next up…Greeks Bearing Gifts. I think I'm going to use several passages discussing love and lust and its myriad of forms as inspiration for this episode. Still have to wrap my head on how Mary gets to Tosh without Ianto knowing – but I'll think of something._

_Thank you so much to everyone that is reading, writing comments and this as a Fav Story and me as a Fav Author. From the bottom of my heart (Deet and stories4 – to you guys!), thank you._

_Darque_


	5. Chapter 5: Passages

_A/N: Hey Gang! So…so beyond sorry for this being so late. RL has been kicking the ever living stuffing out of me. But…back for more I see. Cool, cool. I think I can deal with that (lol!). As a sidebar, thank you for reading my other completed stories. I am so glad that so many of you come back month after month just to re-read my stories…it does a battered psyche very well._

_So…_Greeks Bearing Gifts_… For the title I was originally was going to use a single song or excerpt to wrap the whole story around – and then I realized there is just way too much going on to even attempt that. This story deals with many emotions – love, desire, lust, loneliness, longing, despair, jealousy…and ultimately madness. And all of these emotions aren't being experienced by just the humans!_

_So, I've decided to use several snippets of quotes and written works since this is going to touch on a number things. First and foremost, Jack and Ianto's growing relationship. Second, Mary sets her eyes on Tosh for her bid for freedom while Tosh decides wanting and hoping for love is too hard. Owen realizes what a find our Japanese Princess is – and he and Mary attempt to vie for her affections as everyone else (Ianto especially) try to figure just what is going on with their resident Techie. And finally, the aftermath of Mary's rampage. Lots of flashbacks here…and they will be italicized._

_So – once again – RTD & BBC own everything, not making a red cent off of this (though I'd really love to!) – and I give you…_

**Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives**

**Chapter Five: Passages**

_O, Love! What strange and wonderful fits! One sole thing, one beauty alone can give me life and deprive me of wits! – Gaspara Stampa (1523-1554)_

– _Untitled Sonnet_

**I. Strange and Wonderful: Jack & Ianto**

Ianto sat on his terrace, relaxing in loungewear (fleece hoodie and demin jeans) and enjoying the breeze that was blowing in off the Bay. It never got warm in Wales at the beginning of summer, but a bright day followed by a clear evening and cool breezes was always welcome. He watched as a candle on his bistro table flickered within its hurricane globe – a house warming gift from his sister when he moved back from London.

The "Country Outing", as Owen affectionately called it, was an unmitigated disaster. But it did bring everyone in the small group a bit closer. Enough so that Ianto noticed something was wrong with Tosh when he returned, no matter how much she tried to deny it. _Methinks she doth protest too much,_ he heard his Mam say as he contemplated what ultimately happened.

When Ianto finally had returned to work two weeks after The Beacons, Tosh had suggested that Ianto should label the incident "The Countrycide Incident" for the Archives. Jack and he loved the play on spelling of the word and agreed immediately.

_Tosh…she always had a quick yet quiet wit_, he thought as he continued to study the candle within the hurricane globe. _How did she get herself in such a situation?_ He stopped himself there; her plight was no different then his with Lisa. They both found themselves being unwittingly manipulated in the name of love. And in truth, it was so far from the real thing. Lisa…Mary…and another betrayal of Jack's trust.

_Poor Tosh_, he sighed. He was glad she was resting in his spare room at the moment. Kieran had occupied the room two weeks before, forcing Jack out of it. He chuckled at that; Jack acted put out for nil-point-two seconds until it was confirmed he and Jack would be in the same room…and the same bed.

The man who currently occupied his thoughts – as well as his bedroom – was in the kitchen making a wonderful smelling stew and had baked a few loaves of crusty bread. He even threw together a fabulous tomato and romaine lettuce salad seasoned with feta cheese and olive oil…

~~TW~~

Two weeks before:

_Jack was a great cook and Kieran couldn't stop complimenting him on it. Ianto was confined to his flat after his display of power at The Beacons and was glad for the time off. It helped him repair his battered mental defences – and to connect with Jack, his sister and Kieran. Ianto had been helping the young man with course selection at Cardiff University and a few in-depth discussions of Newport's chances against Cardiff in rugby._

_Ianto also gave him the name of a good local therapist. Just someone to talk to when things got rough during school – and he assured Kieran that he could call at any time. Kieran then smiled at him._

'_So…you and the Captain?' he asked._

'_Yes?' he asked, smirking slightly. He could feel the questions concerning this brimming at the periphery of the boy's thoughts for a few days now._

'_Have…have you…always gone bender?'_

_Ianto laughed at that; he'd just had this conversation with his sister when she came over for a surprise visit with her husband and kids in tow the weekend before. Jack ended up cooking a Sunday Dinner without a roast – just broiled salmon. 'No,' he answered looking over the young man's shoulder towards the terrace and the view beyond. 'I never even considered a sexual relationship with a man before I met the Captain. At first…it was a diversion. I…abused the Captain's trust rather badly. I hurt him…but he forgave me. It's strange really…it's not men per se. I don't go strolling by a gym and drool over the blokes lifting weights by the windows.'_

_Kieran laughed out loud at that._

'_No…it's just the Captain. He…he's made me feel so much. After my mother passed…I've been alone most of my life…even when I was surrounded by a crowd of people. I always felt different, strange…out of place. I knew and understood more then others around me. In school I was always years younger then any of my peers. The first adult relationship I was in wasn't…mutually satisfying. I worshipped the ground she walked on…she. She really didn't know what to do with me. The day before she died I discovered she was having an affair with a co-worker…I was a complete mess after that. But Jack…he _helped_ me; has continued to help me – and I feel everything he feels for me. It's almost like his emotions are the size of galaxies. You could drown in them forever, break the surface for a deep breath…and then dive right back in for more. Sometimes…it's terrifying. But most of the time…it feels…__**wonderful**__.'_

~~TW~~

Ianto felt Jack lean over him and kiss the top of his head. 'Food's just about ready…you want to get her?' he asked softly.

Ianto looked up at him from his seat. 'The others coming?'

Jack smiled. 'Yeah,' he said looking at his wristwatch. 'In about fifteen minutes. Gwen's bringing Rhys and a good scotch. Owen offered to take Tosh home, where hopefully the both of them are going to have a _long_ talk.'

Ianto nodded and as he stood, gathered Jack in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Jack wrapped his own arms around the young man and reciprocated the kiss. 'Thank you,' Ianto whispered when they broke apart. 'For forgiving her…and me.'

The Captain looked into the depths of Ianto's clear blue eyes and sighed. 'Stop bringing it up,' he admonished softly. 'We were both wrong on so many counts. I'm just glad that I've found you, Jones. And that you've let me call you my own.' He then gave the plump, slightly reddened lips in front of his a quick peck and the pert rear below his hand a playful swat. 'Go on, get her. I'll have the table set and the salad plated by the time you get back.'

Ianto nodded, kissing Jack again as Jack tidied the terrace and blew the candle out in the hurricane lamp. Jack wasn't messy by nature…he just didn't like paperwork. Contrary to popular opinion, he knew how to be neat – years of living and working on spaceships and cramped spaceports will do that to a person. From some of the thoughts that passed through Jack's mind, Ianto learned that at times the bunker under Jack's office reminded him of his Toolian ship…he'd have to ask Jack about that sometime soon.

He turned back to look back at the man that had changed his life so much so. At work they were The Captain and The Archivist/Teaboy. But at home they were just Jack and Ianto…and they both wouldn't have it any other way.

~~TW~~

Immediately after The Brecons:

_The both of them were breathing heavily as they came down from their orgasms. Sweat glistened across both of their chests as they lay side by side on Ianto's large bed. Jack turned onto his side then, enjoying the view of a totally sated and debauched Ianto Jones. They were both still reeling from the realization of their feelings for each other during their country excursion._

_Jack was just floored with how Ianto practically attacked him the second his flat door was locked. Clothes were tossed down the hallway as they made their way to the ensuite bathroom and washed the sweat, grime and blood (Jack) off of each other. They then barely dried each other before they landed in the bed. Forty-five minutes later and the room appeared as if a typhoon had hit._

'_Don't complain,' the man next to him said lazily. 'You enjoyed it.'_

_Jack chuckled at that. 'I'm not. No complaints at all. I'm just surprised…you always are so controlled.' Ianto stiffened slightly next to him. Jack put a comforting hand on Ianto's arm. 'I understand why you believe you have to be. But you don't; not around me anyway. I'd…I'd like it if you felt comfortable enough around me to just let go.'_

_Ianto turned to the man next to him and smiled softly. 'Two way street, Jack,' he said quietly. 'I'd like for you to feel the same way.'_

_Jack took Ianto's hand in his and proceeded to kiss his fingers individually. He then looked into Ianto's face and sighed. 'One day…soon…I'm going to leave…go back to the stars…maybe even home,' he began quietly. Ianto moved to pull his hand away, but Jack held fast. 'When that time comes…I want you to come with me. I want to travel the stars with you. I want to show you galaxies…universes far from here. I want to show you the beauty of it…and protect you from its evils.' He kissed Ianto's knuckles as he held onto the fingers of his hand. 'Would you…like to come with me?'_

_Ianto took hold of Jack's hand then. Jack gasped loudly – _and Ianto saw worlds beyond the scope and measure of Earth. Beauty that brought tears to his eyes…starbursts and gaseous nebulas…

Planets made of oceans of water, of different colored sands, of black diamonds, covered over in forests, consumed by volcanoes and molten life forms…and then there was a bright light. A bright and terrifying light that destroyed everything. That gave everything **life**.

_**I bring LIFE**_, a woman's voice echoed _– and Ianto almost screamed as he let go of Jack's hand. He then sat up and gathered the man beside him into his arms._

'_Yes,' he whispered as he held onto Jack, mumbling into his shoulder. 'I'll go with you. I'd follow you to the end of Time and Space. I'll never leave you.'_

_Jack took Ianto's lips in a bruising kiss – and took the young man's body again. But much later, as Jack lay sleeping close to him, Ianto's mind kept going over what he saw…_a bright light.._._an entity._ And what the entity had called itself…_**BAD WOLF**.

~~TWTWTW~~

_Love is dead. We are cured…but are we happy? – Therese Albertine Louise Robinson (1797-1852)_

– _Loving Unworthily_

**II. Happy?: Toshiko**

Toshiko was a mess after The Beacons. She jumped every time there was a weird sound in her flat, when she saw someone in the common hallway of her flat building that she didn't recognize and any loud noises. She thought she was hiding her discomfort well, especially since Ianto was out. If he'd been in, she would have been sorted out whether she wanted to be or not. But he wasn't…and she didn't know what to do.

Owen was hanging around a bit more, she had noticed. Even after all that had happened, rather then running to a pub and its inherit _entourage du noir_, he would swing by her desk and ask if she wanted to go out for a drink. Tosh had held a torch for him that could have made The Burning of London look like a few loose embers escaping a fireplace. But that was _before_ the Beacons.

Now, when Owen drifted by and asked about drinks or an after work bite, she made sure they became group outings. Because she knew something the others didn't…she knew love was dead. It didn't exist…not for her anyway. Not while she had to work for Torchwood for five years…not while UNIT, her former captors, watched her from afar.

_In her dreams, she was back at The Beacons…but Ianto and Jack weren't there to save her, to protect her. And the head cannibal, Evan Sherman, chased her through the darkened woods, tripped her up and leered over her as he choked the life out of her. She would gasp awake – and find herself on the cement floor in the cell of the UNIT detention facility. Her hands were chaffed and raw, the orange boiler suit oversized and dirty, the droning voice on the intercom telling her she had no rights, no freedoms, no trial, no solicitor…no hope. She would look up at the single light swinging from the cell's ceiling – __**and scream**_.

She gave up after having the same dream six nights in a row. As far as she was concerned, the others kidded themselves. Hope was dead, love was dead. Once upon a time she was one of those helpless romantics hoping and praying that Owen would notice _her_, ask _her_ out for a drink_ alone_. Then maybe afterwards he would invite _her_ back to his flat…but that was then. And the second Jack had dropped her off at her flat building after that horrible outing…she knew. She was never going to get what she hoped for…what she wanted. It was time to let her dreams die…_to let love die_.

And then…she met Mary.

~~TWTWTW~~

_The capacity for Passion is both cruel and divine. – George Sand (1804-1876)_

_- Intimate Journal_

**III. Cruelty and Divinity: Mary**

She had been watching all of the Torchwood people for sometime now. They would be her ticket off this rock one day – and that time had finally come. At first she thought the young man in the expensive suits would be her in, but then she realized he had abilities…_powerful_ abilities. She smiled ruefully. _What was it they said about the candle that burns twice as bright?_ He wasn't long for this world…

She then looked to their leader, the man that would shag anything gorgeous…until recently. She then looked to the doctor; his Angry Young Man Attitude guaranteed a few rough nights in the sack, but she acknowledged she would do the chasing rather then the other way around. The former WPC was too sweet, bloody clueless and definitely hetero. No…she decided her mark would be the lonely, shut off Tech Expert.

It had been too easy getting into her mind as she slept…too easy to manipulate her. She thanked The Goddess that their psychic was sidelined, or else Torchwood would have found her sooner rather then later. Her smile twisted her pretty face to that of a vile predator. _I am being cruel…to be kind_, she reasoned. Tosh was too small and unsure of herself to survive this world anyway. When she was done with her, the tech expert would be begging Mary to end her pain…and her miserable existence.

Mary was the name she had been using since the day of her human incarnation…_Like the Virgin_. She chuckled then; Christ! How many times had she said that in her line of work? Pausing as she walked towards the pub she knew Toshiko frequented, she thought about the transporter.

_She had felt when it was uncovered, when its metallic skin was touched by the air. It felt like it was calling out to her after centuries of being buried in the alien dirt and muck of this planet. She rushed to where it was…and found she was beaten to the punch! One of those damned Apes found it next to a body – her first kill on Earth. Someone called the police – and after they had walked all over the site, they then decided it was time to let Torchwood have a go._

_As she watched everyone disembark from the SUV, she corrected herself. That man wasn't her first kill on this mud ball: he was her third. In the space of five minutes, she first killed her minder, then the female, and then it was the young officer. Well…he was her first food on the planet. Poor fellow…too ugly to be a girl and too pretty to be a man…he would have done rather well on her world. But…on this world, at that time…a man had to be one, even if they weren't quite "equipped" to fake it_.

In a way it was good that the transporter was finally uncovered. She was becoming increasingly wary of Cardiff. She had been killing for a long time now…it was so hard to go to animal flesh after tasting human…not quite the same piquant. She had tried to leave once before – and got as far as London. And, after staying there for more than two years, she was working her favourite street corner one evening and was unlucky enough to pull a john with a penchant for knives. He had been terrorizing the 'Working Women' of Whitechapel with his 'Ripper' murders until he met her.

She chuckled then; she had no idea that turning her knife wielding, murderous 'Jack' into a meal would create such hoopla, even now. No one ever tied in the corpse found floating in The Thames with its heart removed… The one thousand quid in his wallet and the bizarre gold signet ring he wore (later she found out it was the sigil of the Free Masons), had kept well off for more than another two years. But then she came back to Cardiff, only to find a house standing on top of where her transporter lay. She was upset…but she couldn't go home; not then anyway.

Mary smiled as she sighted her quarry upon entering the pub. There was Tosh by the bar, oblivious to her approach. She could hear the Tech's thoughts…and she was absolutely fuming! Mary's smile widened. She was bitching about losing a month's worth of programming due to her incompetent co-workers and a football. _Please…try being abandoned by your own people for more than TWO CENTURIES! No check-up, no fly-bys – though there was that one that ended up in a garden off of Bannerman Road in Ealing, England. The woman there helped the lost one on his way, thank the Goddess. But overall, totally forgotten_.

_Let them keep forgetting me_, she thought as she got closer to Tosh. _So like Philoctetes_, she thought, sighing deeply. She shook herself and then squared her shoulders as she walked to Tosh. _Torchwood has my transporter; it's time that I take it back. It's time for me to go home._ She crowded in close enough to interrupt Tosh's train of thought. _It's time for me to show my fellow Star Poets all that _I_ have learned…_

'So,' she began quickly, looking into Tosh's startled face. 'The guy over there has been staring at me – and I've told him he's wasting his time….'

~~TWTWTW~~

_It is not enough to __**conquer**__…one must know how to __**seduce**__. – Voltaire (1694-1778)_

_- Mérope: 1743_

**IV. Seducer: Mary**

Tosh was entranced by the beautiful blonde woman with too much eye makeup and dressed as a cross between a Goth Vamp and Bondage Vixen. The same one who gave her the pendant she now held in her hands and had explained (in _very little_ detail) the workings of the device. When she tried it on in the pub, all the voices practically frightened her out of her skin!

_Is that what it's like for Ianto?_ She asked herself as she caressed the pendant.

She realized that the answer was yes, of course. That was the main reason he was at home…and for the next week he was to be confined to the Hub to make sure the thoughts of others would not overwhelm him. She was excited…but she really wasn't sure why. Could this make her…like Ianto? She knew he could hear their thoughts…he simply chose not to allow himself into them. He respected them all that much…and felt that after Lisa he owed them that and more. She wanted to take the pendant to the others, to show them what she had found…but then she'd have to explain how she came about it. And there was something else…something whispering in her mind since the night before…

_You are so much better than they are. If not for YOU and YOUR technological know-how…they would all be lost… You don't need them. THEY need YOU!_

She didn't know where that thought had come from, but it had gotten steadily stronger – and in her heart of hearts, she knew it was true. She wanted to try the pendant on again. She knew Ianto wouldn't be back until tomorrow…maybe she could get away with it until then…

She hadn't felt much of anything since coming back from the Beacons. This was the first time in so long…she felt oddly in control. As she walked from the carpark to the Tourist Information Centre front, she slipped the pendant on and braced herself for the onslaught of voices. She wobbled slightly and giggling, grasped the stone façade of the TIC wall. Once she had steadied herself, she then hit the button under the counter and entered the base.

_Let me see just what the world is like for Ianto_, she mused.

She crept down to the Hub and first heard and saw Owen coming up from his Autopsy Bay.

_What the hell would create such a perfect symmetrical puncture? Maybe some kind of wooden stake? _'Hey, Tosh,' he said amiably. _She better not go into one about the computer again. It was my fault…but there has to be __**some**__ fun in life! Maybe I can convince her to go to lunch with me as an apology…_

The next was Gwen sitting at her own desk. 'Morning,' she said brightly. _Sergeant going on about me being too big to call on old mates. Should put a Weevil in his bath…_ Tosh smiled at that. The next thoughts shocked her to her core.

_How do I ask her out?_ Owen asked himself as he stared at her, then looked down to his terminal. She didn't believe it!

_She's beautiful and intelligent…God! What would she be like in bed, I wonder? I could show her a thing or two. I'd love it if she'd massage me with her feet…cute little Toshy feet… Always wondered what Jack would be like in the sack…really have to ask Ianto about that. Just love to see him go all red… Ianto! Maybe he could give me a few pointers…he should know a few of Tosh's likes and dislikes. Maybe he could suggest a good book or some sort of computer stuff she wants… Thank God for The Internet! The flowers I ordered for her should arrive at her flat today…her landlord was really nice. Said he'd pop it in to her flat with no worries…hope she likes them. Good God…did I say anything out loud? She's staring at me like I got two heads!_

Tosh turned away quickly – and collided into Gwen's thoughts.

_God above, we have to meet with Rhys' mum this weekend. Hopefully The Rift will dump a family of Weevils on us so I can beg off. But then that will give Dear Brenda more ammunition against Rhys and me. Thank God Ianto comes back tomorrow! I can't stand another cup of Costa's. After drinking Ianto's brew, coffee just isn't the same. I wonder how he and Jack are doing._

Jack chose that moment to walk into the main area of The Hub. Gwen looked at him, smiling softly as Jack returned her smile.

_Judging by the shit eating grin Jack has been sporting all this time, it has been a very good holiday for Ianto and him… Hmmm…wonder what they both look like naked. Christ!_ She suddenly began fanning herself. _Really can not think like that here…whatever in the hell is Tosh staring at?_

But Tosh wasn't staring at Gwen or Owen….she was looking at Jack. She could hear Owen's and Gwen's thoughts as if they were speaking aloud…but from Jack. _She heard __**nothing!**_ His head shot up suddenly and he returned Tosh's stare intently.

'Are you okay, Tosh?' Gwen asked suddenly. _She's been so quiet since the Beacons. Is she okay?_, she thought._ Everyone's so worried about Ianto…has anyone checked on her? Owen appears to finally be paying her some attention…poor girl to have her heart trampled on by him and his drunken shenanigans…_

Owen rose from his chair and stepped over to Tosh. 'I'm fine,' she said quickly as she walked over to her own station, away from Owen and Gwen. She also made sure she was nowhere near Jack. 'Have…to, ah…get working on that translation programme that got trashed yesterday. In a way I have to thank you two for that. I realized last night that I was going about the programme's construction all wrong. I wouldn't have noticed until it had completed.'

Owen and Gwen looked down sheepishly. 'Well…then,' began Owen as a thought popped into his head. _Take her out to lunch!_ 'How about we go out to lunch to celebrate…my treat.'

Tosh looked into his hopeful chocolate eyes…and the wall around her heart softened a tad. She smiled shyly. 'Okay,' she answered softly.

~~TW~~

The whole of the lunch hour passed too quickly for both Tosh and Owen. Owen spoke haltingly, apologizing profusely for erasing her programme with his football. And then he apologized for the nasty things he said afterwards. Tosh simply smiled beatifically and listened to Owen's thoughts…and the thoughts of all of the people in the restaurant.

As Owen was paying for their meal, she looked at all of the people out and about…apparently everyone who wasn't working was out shopping. She started smiling at some of the things she was hearing for the people passing her by…

First a woman…

'_Could bandage my hand – say I shut it in the car door. That'll explain why the signatures don't match…'_ Tosh shook her head. A forger in the making…

Then a man…

'_Gives me an hour before Lisa gets back to dress up. Got to be careful – she's starting to notice the tights getting baggy around the crotch…'_ She had to cover her mouth with her hand so as not to laugh out loud.

Another woman…

'_All big and giggly and I'm sat there with my boobs hanging out like something out of National Geographic…'_ After a quick look at the woman in question, she giggled.

Then a mousy blonde with glasses…

'_Six cigarettes today – and all of them post coital…GLORIOUS!'_ She remembered what Jack said once about having to always watch "the quiet looking ones". Of course, he was looking at Ianto as he spoke.

A small man wearing a smart suit and dark shades…

'_Ah…Mr. Bond. We have been expecting you…'_ She giggled at that; the man was even thinking The Bond Theme tune.

A woman with long brown hair…

'_Some people should be prohibited from wearing a thong…what's that girl looking at?'_ Tosh looked down immediately, clutching her purse closer to her frame.

'_Is this how life is like for Ianto all the time?'_ Tosh asked herself as she listened to a myriad of other thoughts…she turned back to see Owen coming out of the restaurant.

'Ready to go, Tosh?' he asked. _Should I ask her out for dinner tonight? No…I should wait until I talk to Ianto…he'll set me in the right direction._

Tosh smiled. 'Not yet,' she said softly. She wanted to stay out a bit longer…find out what other thoughts she could hear. 'I've still a bit of time…I want to find some dark chocolate for Ianto to celebrate his coming back tomorrow. Can you let Jack know I'll be in soon?'

Owen's face fell slightly as he looked down. Tosh put her hand under his chin and looked into his eyes… _She still doesn't trust me. How could she? All I've ever done to her was push her away…made her feel less than what she is._

'Lunch was lovely Owen,' she said softly. 'Thank you…I appreciated it. And…I would like to do it again soon.'

Owen brightened considerably after that. 'I'll let Jack know what you're doing. Don't be out too long…and maybe we can go out again day after tomorrow.'

Tosh nodded, feeling slightly guilty. 'Sure…see you.' She then turned back to the shops – and after buying a few bars of fine dark chocolate for Ianto – and by proxy, Myfanwy, she fell back into the throngs of shoppers outside. And then…she heard it.

A man's cold, methodical voice chant:

_I'm gonna kill them. I'm gonna kill them. I'm gonna kill them. Lay their bodies out and lie next to them. So I'm gonna have to do myself lying down. Should have practiced that…_

A dark man…wearing a military jacket carrying a large hold-all on his shoulder. Tosh lost him in the crowd, a cacophony of others voices invaded her mind – and then she heard his thoughts again…

_When Laurence comes in and finds us, he'll know this is right and what he's been doing is trespassing. I won't miss anything. I won't miss this city, I won't miss this body…I won't miss anything!_

Tosh spotted him leaving the shopping district and heading towards residential homes. She couldn't lose him…whoever he was going to meet…he had every intention of killing. As she followed behind him, she was taken back to when Ianto was put on suspension after Lisa. He would have done himself a harm if not for Jack. This man was in the same place Ianto had been…_But this one didn't have a Jack to save him._

The man stopped in front of a neat row home and, after straightening his jacket, knocked on the door and was allowed in. By the time Tosh crept up behind him, he was calmly loading the shotgun that he had taken out of his hold-all.

'It'll be just like falling asleep,' he explained softly as his ex-wife screamed out when he snapped the gun closed.

'Not Danny!' she begged, trying to put her body in front of her son. 'Please, no! Not Danny!'

Tosh's hand closed around her holstered gun, then realized she couldn't use it. She then looked to her right – and found the answer to her current quandary.

'Oh my God, Neil!' the woman screamed again, her son whimpered with her. The man cocked the weapon – and Tosh thumped him soundly with a golf club to the back of his head. As he fell to the ground, the boy and mother looked at her in surprise and shock. The woman began to convulsively cry.

'You're going to be all right now,' Tosh said softly as she put the club down and gathered the distraught woman in her arms. The boy, Danny, clung to her as well as she fished out her mobile and dialed 999. 'Everything is all right now,' Tosh whispered. 'You're okay,' she continued. She wondered later if she said that for their benefit…or her own.

~~TW~~

Tosh came back much later with a spring to her step, Owen noticed as he looked up from the skeleton and watched her on the CCTV putting her coat on the back of her chair. There were bars of chocolate were in her hands and she was creeping quietly in the direction of the kitchenette. _Going to put them in the fridge for Ianto, no doubt_, he thought.

He followed her with his eyes as he peered from the center of the staircase that led to his autopsy theatre. _Do I go up and ask where the hell she's been? Or do I leave her be? She never questioned me, even when I came in to work hours late and smelling like a distillery. I won't question her…I won't push her…I…I really think…oh, God! I think I love her!_

Tosh gasped softly, her hand to her mouth. _Oh…Owen._

But as Owen continued to work on the skeleton and Jack on the 'Stapler', she was left to her own thoughts. And they kept drifting to the beautiful blonde that gave her the strange pendant. _Mary_, she thought. At first she was frightened of a stranger knowing so much about her personal life and where she lived. No one ever paid her more then a cursory glance…and now. Now she had a man _and_ a woman vying for her attention. _Gods…how bizarre_. And she couldn't help how happy she felt…_she was adored_! The police sergeant said that if she hadn't made it there in time, that man would have most certainly murdered his ex-wife and son. _She was hailed as a hero_! So maybe…_maybe there __**was**__ hope after all._

And later that evening, after finding Mary waiting in front of her flat with the fixings for a romantic evening for two…she forgot all about Owen, Gwen, Ianto and Jack. She forgot all about Torchwood – and UNIT. All she cared about was the poor abandoned alien disguised as a blonde Goth waif. All she cared about was helping her get home. All she cared about was _Mary_.

~~TWTWTW~~

_Immodest creature! You do not want a woman who will accept your faults. You want one who pretends that you are faultless – one who will caress the hand that strikes her and kiss the lips that lie to her. – George Sand (1804-1876)_

_-Intimate Journal: 1834_

**V. Kissing Lips that Lie: Mary & Ianto, Tosh & Owen**

Ianto returned the next day – and was beyond bored with being confined to the Hub after being confined to his flat. But he knew Jack and Owen were right. After the Beacons, there was something wrong with his stomach. He felt as if his whole body was on edge all of the time…like when he was at home as a youngster, waiting for the next drunken beating from his father. He felt as if he was on fire half the time. He felt as if his stomach was taken over by rats…or some other kind of furry, small skittering thing.

He could barely man the Information Centre. He could hear the thoughts of every person that walked in – and had to constantly stop himself from gathering the requested information _before_ the tourists even asked.

He was going through the hidden door to The Hub when he saw Tosh suddenly tuck her hands behind her back and stammer out a 'Good Morning', greeting him nervously. He smiled and inclined his head slightly, his suit and jacket as pristine and impeccable as ever. He pressed the button that opened the secret entrance and watched Tosh nod again to him nervously – and read her as she flew into The Hub.

He could hear her thinking of someone that she had met a few nights earlier…someone named _Mary_. Someone she had slept with just the night before! His eyebrows rose at that; he thought he was the only that was bi on the team…and then he remembered Owen going on about how he scored a hetero couple thanks to an alien cologne Jack had made him give back. That was after Suzie topped herself and the pair of them went off on a pub crawl in her honor. He smiled – _and then froze_.

_He couldn't_ _feel Tosh_! He panicked as he searched her out in The Hub. _Was she all right? Did she fall? Was she hurt somewhere?_ He felt Owen grumbling over his latest obsessions – how to get Tosh out on a date and the bizarre skeleton found with Jack's latest obsession. Jack was thinking of their latest acquisition, the alien piece of machinery dubbed "The Stapler". Gwen was wondering what sort of sexual activities Jack and Ianto got up to…he snorted at that. He made a mental note to tell Jack – they both needed a good laugh.

But as he searched for Tosh…it was as if there was a hole where her mind…her consciousness should be. He knew she was physically in The Hub…he just couldn't feel

_Jack!_ He called out with his mind.

_Ianto? Are you okay?_ Jack answered. He knew Ianto was better, but still worried for his young lover none the less.

_Tosh…I can't feel her. Jack…it's…this is worse than Lisa. She's…closed off_, he answered, rather surprised. _I saw her go down, I know that she is there…but I don't feel her… it's like she's…just not there! And…have you noticed Owen around her?_

_Yes,_ came the reply. _He's been trying to get her to go anywhere with him alone, but she's made sure to make them group outings – until yesterday. They went out to lunch together._

_Owen asked me if I knew what she'd like,_ Ianto added. B_ut Jack... She's…something is wrong. Tosh would be over the moon if Owen so much as batted his eyelashes in her direction! Why…how long has she been rebuffing his advances? _Ianto asked.

Jack suddenly became serious. _Since The Beacons_, he answered.

_Jack…I think she's in trouble. Someone named…Mary_, Ianto said; then suddenly felt a deep tremor. He almost lost his footing and had to grab onto the counter of the Information Centre – and then everything went black.

_Ianto?_ There was no response. Jack was flying out of his office before he was aware he was moving. _Ianto?_ He was answered with silence as he raced up the steps to the TIC front.

And on the edge of the Plass, away from the scope of the CCTV cams, Mary simply smiled…

~TW~

When Ianto awoke he was laying on the table in the Med Bay with four anxious faces looking down at him.

'I'm alive,' he whispered.

Jack chuckled at that, taking Ianto's hand in his and cradling it as if it were precious. 'What happened up there?' he asked softly.

Ianto shook his head. 'I don't know,' he answered lying. 'One minute I was okay, the next I could hear everything. Maybe…maybe you and Owen were right. I…I'm not quite ready to be back,' he said softly, and then locked his defence shields down. _Jack – it was a Psy attack, aimed specifically at me. Someone wants me out of the way_, he whispered into his lover's mind. _I think it's someone that Tosh just met_.

'Just wanted to make sure you are okay,' Jack murmured, holding him close. Ianto buried his head into Jack's neck.

'I'm tired,' he whispered aloud, feeling anything but.

Owen immediately set about giving Ianto a complete physical while Gwen went upstairs to man the TIC. Tosh was at her computer fingering a new pendant that was around her neck. Ianto watched her worry it as he tuned in to Owen's thoughts – and watched her reactions.

_So…maybe I should ask Ianto to pick up some vibes from the skeleton…not so sure it's a woman. Something is just too bizarre about it. Ianto said to check out the NHS Systems…now that I think about it…not a bad idea. Now on to Operation Acquiring Tosh…how do I get her to notice me? Should I ask her out to dinner? Come on, Owen! You've faced down rabid Weevils; Jack when he's in _Captain Harkness Mode_, Ianto in _Butler Mode_…you can get the Girl! Just…when do I ask her?_

Tosh smiled at that, her hand stilling its movement of the pendant. Then her face clouded over – and a single word resonated in her head. As it rang through, Ianto gasped slightly. The caring, wonderful Tosh vanished…_Mary_.

He then felt a scrabbling at the back of his mind…as if something was trying to get in…_to break through_! He fought it and quickly slapped up a few barriers…and Tosh turned to look _at him_.

'You okay, TeaBoy?' Owen asked suddenly, bringing Ianto back to the present.

'Yeah,' he answered automatically. _Oh, Tosh…what have you gotten yourself into?_

~~TW~~

After being given the all clear by Owen, Ianto retreated to his Archives. Twenty minutes later Jack followed him. Ianto was leaning up against a tunnel wall, waiting by the doors of the room where he had put Lisa. Jack wasn't sure he liked Ianto around there.

'Ianto,' he began.

'Jack,' he answered quickly. 'Think CLOSED.'

Jack immediately stopped talking and started thinking of brick walls as he followed Ianto into the deeper levels of The Hub.

_When Ianto was first hired at Torchwood Three, he began researching the floor plans and maps of the internal structures and storerooms of The Hub. He came across something called _"The Quiet Room"_ on Sub Level Seven. Originally he thought it would be a good place for Lisa – until he put his finger on its location within the hand-inked map – and almost screamed. He had no idea what it meant – but he wasn't going anywhere near that room alone._

_After…Lisa, he mentioned his discovery to Jack and they both went down to investigate. Looking at the state of the room's outside rust and cobweb covered metal door, it was apparent that no one had opened it for the better part of a century. The room was dark inside when Ianto and Jack finally wretched the door open. Jack closed the ancient copper circuit nailed to the wall to turn on the lights – and he and Ianto almost screamed at what they found._

_Six wooden gurneys held the strapped down skeletal remains of at least six beings – two were definitely human. It appeared that the beings were left inside the room…to die. The room had a dampening field within it that inhibited people – or beings – with telepathic abilities. They discovered that when Jack swung the door closed._

'_Oh…Jack,' Ianto whispered in awe as he looked to the poor bodies. Now he understood the horror – and the beauty of this room. 'It's…it's so quiet.' All of his life Ianto heard things…voices, whispers, thoughts. But in that room, not even the well-like sounding thoughts of Jack could be heard._

_As they examined the room, they realized that the walls were painted black. Ianto pulled out a handkerchief from his inside jacket pocket and rubbed it against the wall. The paint flecked away and revealed a white wall that almost glowed with opaque circular insets that resembled portholes on a ship. They both noticed that the oppressive feeling within the room suddenly lightened._

'_Jack – open the door again,' Ianto said softly. Jack did as he asked and with a flick of his hand the black paint whisked away, leaving pristine white walls – and a totally dust and spider web free room. 'Jack,' he said with a quiet waver in his voice. 'I know what this room is.' He then closed his eyes and, bowing his head, put his right hand against the wall – __**reaching out**__. The room began to glow – almost pulse like…_

'_The TARDIS,' Jack breathed, running a hand over the same wall. The answering hum confirmed it for him._

'_Not quite,' Ianto said softly. 'There was a report I read once at Torchwood London. It was from a companion of The Doctor – her name was Tegan Jovanka. One of The Doctor's regenerations had gone wrong. An enemy TimeLord almost succeeded in killing him and caused an emergency regeneration. At his behest, his companions put him in a special room within the center of the TARDIS to aid in his recovery.'_

'_So how did Torchwood get it?' Jack asked. Ianto simply held up a finger for a moment of silence and closed his eyes again. The pulse within the room felt stronger – and Jack realized that the room was talking to the young man. Ianto then opened his eyes._

'_The TARDIS was in trouble; got caught in a type of temporal gravity well. Twenty five percent of it was ejected into the well to give them enough forward momentum to escape. They didn't know what quarter of the TARDIS would be ejected; this room and a few more found their way to The Rift and were brought here – by Alice Guppy.' Jack's head snapped up at that – between that woman and Emily Holroyd…it was a miracle he survived relatively sane to the twenty-first century._

'_It was dormant, but its' telepathic dampening qualities were still active. It is called a Zero Room. No psychic emanations can enter or escape it. Its purpose was to isolate its TimeLord occupant to give them time to collect their psychic and mental faculties enough so that they could complete regeneration.'_

_Jack shook his head and smiled ruefully. 'If only we'd known about this room sooner. It could have helped you…after Lisa.'_

_Ianto took Jack's hand in his, and, bringing it to his lips, kissed the knuckles tenderly. 'You…were all that I needed.' He then turned to the six gurneys and their sad contents. 'Let's get these poor unfortunates to the morgue. I can check the records and see if there was any mention of telepathic aliens being detained by Guppy or Holroyd.'_

'_And telepathic humans, don't forget,' Jack said sadly. 'I was a freelancer back then. I was in a holding cell…they tortured me to death again and again, trying to figure out my immortality. Then they realized it was best if I worked for them – and undying Torchwood agent. They paid me to bring aliens in – but I can't recall any telepaths arriving. I would have told them to run like Hell,' he finished bitterly._

_Ianto put a steadying hand on Jack's shoulder. 'You are not to blame, Jack. It was well documented that the two women that ran this facility at the time were __**very**__ protective of their "personal projects", as this one obviously was. No one knew about this room or what went on down here – did they?'_

_Jack shook his head. 'They were killed in a recovery effort together. And they took their secrets with them to the grave – along with these poor beings.'_

'_Well,' said Ianto stroking the wall slightly. 'We know you are here now…and we'll make sure you are never forgotten again.'_

_The room positively purred…_

~TW~

Ianto said nothing until Jack closed the door to the Zero Room. It had changed since they first found it. They had put a large bed in its center and Ianto used it occasionally as a meditation room of sorts. It made the room happy to be of some service.

'Who is it?' Jack asked.

'Someone Tosh just met,' Ianto answered. 'Tosh has something she's been fiddling with all day. It's a piece of jewelry; a pendant. It's given her the ability to hear people's thoughts; I checked. She was hearing Owen as well as I can. She was excited for a bit – then she started thinking of someone named Mary – and it was like her mind shut down. I couldn't hear anything after that.'

'So…Mary isn't quite the Virgin,' Jack said, tapping his lips with his pointer finger. 'Tosh asked me earlier today about Greek mythology – the archer Philoctetes? She became pensive when I explained it. She said something about going to a pub quiz and no one getting the answer.'

Ianto smirked at that. 'That must be the worst lie Tosh has ever told. She hates pub quizzes…only because I beat her at them all the time. But this Mary…I think she is the one that sent the wave towards me. For some time now I thought someone was watching us. I chalked it up to my being paranoid…but now,' he left the sentence unfinished as he put a hand to his head. 'Jack…I may have to stay down here tonight. It's taking everything out of me keeping my defences up all the time.'

Jack nodded in agreement. 'But not alone. I'll stay here with you.'

'That skeleton and the hardware you found with it? You think this might have anything to do with what is going on now?' Ianto suddenly asked.

'Not sure,' Jack mused. 'But I know I've seen that…,' he snapped his fingers suddenly. 'Arcarteen Five!'

'Where the hardware originated?' Ianto asked. Jack nodded vigorously.

'The race is called Star Poets. Beautiful creatures – made of light and their bodies are translucent. They use that hardware as transporters. They had some trouble with The Shadow Proclamation a few centuries back because they do not believe is execution. But they didn't want their ne'er-do-wells hanging about either, so they took to sending their criminals to languish on underdeveloped worlds and abandoning them there.'

'Like Philoctetes on the island of Lemnos,' Ianto mused. 'Jack – Mary is one of them…she wants the transporter. She wants to go home. But… .'

'The state of the skeleton,' Jack mused. 'The hole in its chest; she murdered that woman.'

'You really think so?' Ianto asked.

'One way to find out,' Jack said as he walked to the door. 'We're going to have a nice long rest tonight – and tomorrow, you're going to get in touch with the dead.'

'Oh…joy,' Ianto said, sighing heavily.

~TW~

'You ready for this?' Jack asked Ianto the next day. They were in the kitchenette, Jack watching Ianto begin the first of many pots of coffee.

Owen had come in fifteen minutes earlier; he still couldn't determine the cause of death for the skeleton other than unidentified blunt force trauma. And that irked him no end. Sure, the person had been dead for almost two centuries…but there was just something not quite right. He was sure he had seen these injuries before. And as he continued to examine it more thoroughly, he wasn't even sure if it was female.

Ianto nodded. 'Stay close,' he answered softly. 'This…is going to get all kinds of weird.'

Jack smirked in amusement. 'You are a psychic heavyweight, I'm an Immortal and we hunt aliens for a living. How much weirder can it get?'

Ianto chuckled softly as they both took the last steps into the main area of the Hub. 'Let me get the coffee sorted – and we'll take it from there.'

~TW~

The medic looked up from the skeleton at the two men coming down into his lair. 'Well,' he said sighing as he stepped away from his current quandary. 'If it isn't Frik and Frak.'

'Still worrying over it?' Jack asked, motioning to the skeleton.

Owen nodded, working his pen between his fingers.

'Ianto has a suggestion,' Jack continued.

Owen looked up to the well suited young man. Ianto raised his hand and made to lay it out over the skeleton.

'Go for it,' Owen said shrugging. 'Any information is better than nothing. I've checked the historical record for this area at that time; there was a garrison located not far from here. They were preparing to leave for the second war against America, if Tosh's timeline is correct. So, this…person could have been killed around then. The area was a very rough place back then.'

'It was a rough place twenty years ago,' Ianto commented drily as he stood next to the skeleton and raised his hand over the hole in its chest. 'Here we go,' he said softly as he laid his hand over the bones.

_He was in a forest following a woman and a man in uniform._

'He was a young man…a commissioned officer. But something is wrong,' Ianto said softly.

_The man is angry…his "friends", rivals more like, were making fun of his…_

'He…he is angry…and drunk.'

_The prostitute was opening his planket, but he already knew what was going to happen. He had beaten the last whore to make fun of how small he was… If this one said __**anything**__, he was going to kill her._

'He had an undersized penis. He was ridiculed by both the other officers and the "hired" help. He had beaten a prostitute because of it.'

_But word had already gotten around…and all the working girls knew which were the experienced ones…and which were the virgins._

_**Mary…like The Virgin…**_

'She made a joke about virgins – he hit her. She scratched his face hard enough to draw blood.'

_**I'm not your bloody hound!**_

'He started chasing her,' Ianto's voice trailed off as he scrunched his face. 'A high pitched sound rang out – not human. He saw her going towards a bright light. He took out his pistol – he was going to kill her.'

_**Do whores have prayers?**_

'He shot her…but she didn't fall. She just smiled as the blood dripped out of the hole he blew into her. She was no longer human at that point. She appeared in front of him – then ripped his heart out of his chest.'

Ianto closed his eyes and let out a long sigh as he pulled his hand away. 'I hate to say it – but it couldn't have happened to a nicer person.'

Jack nodded. 'Unfortunately for him, he just met up with a better predator.' He turned to Owen then. 'And the alien in still out there.'

'Jack! It's MARY! Tosh's Mary!'

'Are you sure?'

Ianto nodded. 'She told him her name – " Mary – like The Virgin." She's after the transporter.'

'Transporter? Is that what the hardware found with the skeleton is?' Owen asked.

Jack nodded. 'Finally figured where I had seen it before. Beautiful piece of technology, really.'

'She didn't make an appearance until about four days ago – when you guys found it,' Ianto said in passing.

'You think she's been around for two hundred years killing people like him?' Owen asked, looking at the skeleton again. Then he let out a strangled yelp.

'What?' Jack and Ianto asked together.

Owen said nothing, but motioned for them to follow him to his computer station. There he accessed the NHS database and started a search using the injuries on the skeleton to modify it…and the return hits were nothing short of horrifying.

One picture that popped on the screen showed a rather attractive blonde lying dead and naked on a metal autopsy table. What made the picture more bone chilling was the hole in her chest where her heart should have been.

'She had been fished out of the Bay not far from here – no ID, no clothes…floating just the way you see her. Heart had been removed – _pulled_ – right out of her chest. I'd been a resident six months by that point. When they brought her in all I wanted to do was throw up.'

Ianto put a comforting hand on Owen's shoulder. The doctor turned then, his frightened brown eyes looking into the younger man's blue ones. 'Tosh,' he whispered, almost afraid to raise his voice. 'That…thing could kill her. We have….'

Ianto then squeezed his shoulder. 'Be strong, Owen,' he said softly. 'We'll all make sure Tosh is safe – and the creature is stopped. But you have to be strong for her – and help her when all of this is over.' He turned to Jack then. 'Mary is the reason Tosh is closed off. Every time she puts on that pendant… It sets up an artificial resonance field, allowing someone not psychic to hear the thoughts of others. Tosh had a mental break after The Beacons. A nightmare the creature latched onto – and expanded. I keep hearing the same kind of phrases when I try to hear Tosh now. Mary's kind are poets. She loves all sorts of poetry, written works. She's read Sappho, Homer, George Sand, Pablo Neruda, Byron, Melville, Browning…and others. I keep hearing one line from a poem: "Love is dead…we are cured. But are we happy?" It's something she's looped and projected at Tosh.' He sighed then. 'I think Tosh has given up.'

'What do you mean?' Owen asked, fear making his voice sharp.

'She…she hears _everything_, but she's not like me. I've had time and training to prepare for the ugly things that people think. But she's wide open to these…feelings. And they are destroying her. We have to stop Mary. Jack, I think it's time we call for outside help. _Way _outside help.'

Jack nodded in understanding. 'Time to make a call then. So…Tosh's new girlfriend is a 200-plus year old alien serial killer that was dumped on this planet and is a lover of poetry?' Jack asked.

Ianto shrugged smirking. 'No one is perfect, Jack,' he admonished softly.

~TW~

Tosh didn't like the pendant anymore. It was almost as if all it did was show her the evil and displeasure humans thought. She felt that no one was worth the effort. Mary had told her once that it was good that humans from Earth had not learned to fly to the stars. _You are a culture of invasion_, she said. And Mary's cock and bull story of the pendant being "a family heirloom"…before she had displayed her true form, Tosh knew in her heart she wasn't human.

But if other humans weren't worth the effort, why was she? Why was Mary being nice to her? Now…now Mary wanted the hardware found with the skeleton…she called it a transporter. Tosh knew it would be wrong to let Mary follow her into The Hub, but it was almost as if the switch that would allow her to say 'no' to Mary was not on. She could not deny the alien anything. And yet, the person that she wanted, that she _truly_ loved and adored, she was ignoring.

_He did the same to you!_ A voice shouted in her head.

'But that was before, not now,' she cried as she lay forlorn and naked in her bed. She never thought of herself as a woman enjoying the sexual advances and favors of another woman. But again, she lost her inhibitions around Mary…_like Ianto with Jack._

Tosh shook her head then – no NO! Not the same, because Jack shared things with Ianto that he _never_ told the others – or herself. Not even Gwen! Or Owen – and he had been at Torchwood the longest! There…was trust, love…_true love._ Angrily, she wiped her hand across her tear sodden face. She wanted – _needed!_ – to get her emotions under control! She wanted things to be like they were before… She wanted the bloody ride to stop so she could get off!

Mary looked at her from an overstuffed wingbacked chair in the corner in the of the bedroom. She smiled cruelly as she watched the smoke rise from the cigarette she was smoking. She could feel a little of Tosh's roiling emotions. Without the pendant, she could hear nothing, but she had been around these apes long enough to read their bodies, see their emotions slithering under the skin. She could smell Tosh's sorrow and self-loathing and simply basked in it. She put the cigarette to her lips again. Gods! She was going to miss the burning of tobacco…but it was a small price to pay to be home!

'Do you want all of this to stop? To have it all make sense again?' she asked the distraught woman.

Tosh nodded. 'Yes,' she sobbed mournfully.

'Then help me and I will help you. Take me to Torchwood.'

~TW~

'Jack,' Tosh began hesitantly as she and Mary went to where the transporter had been located. 'He had it – it may be in his office. I'll go check,' she said, turning towards the Captain's office.

Mary nodded distractedly, marveling at the layout of the base. 'Hurry Lover,' she cooed. 'I…have a long journey ahead of me and may want to have a bite before I go.'

'Hello Tosh…Mary,' Ianto said evenly from across The Hub. He was walking up the final steps from the Archives. 'Star Poet from Arcateen 5,' he continued, looking directly at Mary. 'She can not give you what you want. Your people will still see you as an aberration…a blight on their society. Do you _really_ want to go back?'

Mary's cruel smile returned. 'And how do your people see you as?' she asked. 'Their Psychic Search and Rescue Dog?'

'If the situation calls for it, then yes,' Ianto answered, watching as everyone else took their predetermined places on the main floor. Tosh slipped the pendant on. She still could not hear Jack or Ianto, but Gwen and Owen came through loud and clear.

_She'll hurt Tosh…like the skeleton. Oh God! She'll kill Tosh!_ Owen thought.

Gwen was equally worried. _How do we get Tosh safe? She had to step a bit to the left…towards Owen. Tosh! If you hear me – creep over towards Owen!_

Tosh started moving slightly away from Mary as she was explaining the night of her arrival to Earth. 'I killed the guard – was planning on making an escape. But then I realized this dirtball was as good as any other. I had disposed of the guard's body…and then I was disturbed.'

'And you killed the human Mary,' Jack finished.

'And you've been killing ever since. All those people,' Owen continued. _Oh God! Tosh!_

Mary smirked. 'Well…this form needs to be fed. And human meat is as good as any other.'

'And yet your kind are primarily vegetarian,' Ianto commented.

'Their loss,' Mary answered sharply.

_She's just talking – we can take her!_ Owen thought, his hands forming into fists. _**I**__ can take her. She killed that girl all those years ago – but she is not getting Tosh!_ He began to move towards Mary.

'Owen! **No!**'Tosh and Ianto both cried out. Mary moved like lightening towards the weapons room and took hold of a short dagger, then went straight for Owen; the blade pointed directly at his chest. Her arm pulled back, ready to throw it forward with all of her strength – and she was _pulled back_ – landing rather heavily on her rear-end on the floor.

She blinked, looking up at Ianto in surprise. 'You?' she asked. Ianto simply nodded. She got up slowly from the grating, noting that Tosh was tucked safely within Owen's arms and Gwen was standing behind Jack. Jack held her transporter. He then turned to Ianto and threw the device to him. For its size it was incredibly light and in a flash, Ianto had removed the blade from Mary's hand and placed the transporter in its place.

'Once we identified your species, we made contact with Ms. Sarah Jane Smith. She had a transponder that one of your kind left her if she ever wanted to contact them. We used it to tell your people about you. They, in turn, told us how to reprogram the transporter,' Jack said smugly. The bulky, claw-like device powered itself on then and the claws on either end of it locked around Mary's hands.

'What…what is this? What is happening?' she asked, her voice was hard with an edge of fear.

'It's taking you to your just reward,' Ianto said softly. 'Your final home. Your death sentence has been issued – and now is carried out.'

The transporter activated – and Mary screamed as she was engulfed in a bright white light that shot up off the floor of The Hub towards the upper levels. They all watched in wonder as it vanished.

Tosh, tears streaming down her face, looked up in horrified realization. 'Wha…where did she go?'

Ianto looked at her sadly. 'Her people did not want her to go back. She had killed more then a few hundred humans in her time on Earth. The Shadow Proclamation deemed she should suffer nothing less than execution.'

Tosh started at that. 'Shadow Proclamation? Why were they involved?'

Jack sighed then. 'There have been many governments since Mary was abandoned here. The ones that marooned her knew that one day she would try to come back. Her own people could not execute her - .'

'But The Shadow Proclamation could easily pass such an edict,' Ianto continued. 'And Torchwood would execute it.'

'So…where did you send her?' Tosh asked.

Ianto sighed. 'The center of the Sun.'

Tosh gripped Owen's arm tightly – and passed out.

~~TWTWTW~~

_Since all that I can do for thee is to do nothing, this my prayer must be: That thou may'st never guess nor ever see the all-endured this nothing-done costs me. – Lord Lytton(1803-73)_

_- To A Woman_

**VI: Aftermath**

By the time Ianto had coaxed Tosh out of the spare room, Gwen, Rhys and Owen were in the lounge and Jack had opened the table to accommodate everyone.

Rhys wasn't exactly told what had happened – only that Tosh had suffered a devastating personal loss. He was sweet and kind – and Tosh was _so glad_ Gwen had someone like him to cling to when things went pear-shaped. Just like Ianto had Jack - and she…she apparently had Owen.

She looked at him with watery eyes as he took her hand in his – and knew he had forgiven her. As she looked at the others, she knew they had forgiven her as well. And as everyone sat down at the table to eat the wonderful dinner Jack had prepared…she looked out the terraced doors towards the darkening horizon and dared to _**BELIEVE**_.

~~TW~~

Later that week found Jack lying next to Ianto in his bunk under his office. The bed was damnably small, but he and Ianto were naked and pressed _very close together_… That alone made it a plus in his book.

Ianto's head lay on Jack chest, the inhaling and exhaling of air across the older man's chest lulled him into a form of easy, half-wakefulness. They had made love earlier, but it wasn't their usual raucous affair. Jack didn't mind – he loved showing Ianto physically what he couldn't express verbally. And with the young man draped across him like a warm duvet, he sighed softly and closed his eyes, feeling very content. And then Ianto whimpered…

~~TW~~

_The sky over London was filled with Daleks, Ianto's heart froze in horror as he looked on helplessly as they fired, screaming 'Exterminate!' The Daleks then changed in Cyberman – that overran the streets of London and the world calling out 'DELETE!' He looked on and the Cybermen morphed into something else – something like small metallic footballs that began killing people. _Toclafane,_ a voice whispered._

_A young man with a wicked smile dressed in an expensive Armani stood with a beautiful blonde woman in a conservative Chanel dress outfit looked on at the carnage with something akin to glee on their faces._

_Jack was writhing on the deck of a ship (_Valiant_, his Mam's voice whispered) in pain with another man in a brown pinstripe suit and a long brown overcoat. Jack rose and flung a beautiful dark skinned woman into his arms._

'_GO!' Jack screamed. 'Go now!' The man fired his sonic screwdriver at Jack and the older man fell with a pained cry._

_Ianto raised psychic barriers to protect himself and the young woman against the weapons of the creatures and UNIT soldiers. He narrowed his eyes on the man standing above them – the man responsible for all the death and destruction around them. The floating metal footballs called him…__**Master**__.'_

'_I'll be back,' he growled._

'_I'll be waiting,' the man answered as Ianto and the girl (__**Martha**__, Mam supplied) vanished. The man then skipped down the steps he had been standing on and took Jack's head in his hands. 'But in the interim…I am going to have SO much fun with you!'_

~~TW~~

Ianto was screaming. Jack immediately took hold of the young man and tried to quiet him; to wake him, but he was having none of it.

'Mam,' Jack whispered as he held Ianto tightly. 'Help me help him…please.' The bunker was suddenly filled with the smell of lavender, an herb Ianto told him time and again that his Mam loved. Ianto quieted down after five minutes and clung to Jack in his sleep. _Mam_, Jack called out with his mind. _What happened?_

He heard the woman heave a great sigh. _Ianto sees the future, Jack. Like…like the Faire. Something is coming. Something evil…something terrible. My son…my son will be ready when it comes. Never doubt that._

And the comforting presence and smell of lavender was gone.

'Jack?' he heard Ianto ask sleepily. Jack looked down at the young man in his arms.

'Beautiful,' he whispered, running a finger down the side of Ianto's face. 'Are you all right?'

'No,' Ianto answered, his voice trembling. 'I've…I've been seeing things. I…I don't really understand them. They…they scare me,' he finished, whispering like a scared child.

Jack held him closer and kissed his forehead. 'I'm here…and for now, it is just a dream. Just try to rest, Cariad.'

Ianto smiled as he tucked his head into Jack's chest. Jack could feel the smile growing on Ianto's face. 'What?' Jack asked.

'You really need to learn Welsh, Jack. You murdered that word with your accent,' Ianto said, his sparkling blue eyes looking up into the other man's. 'But I love the fact that you tried…for me.'

Jack leaned down and took the younger man's lips in searing kiss. 'You are welcome,' he whispered when he broke off the kiss and leaned their heads together. 'I love you, Ianto Jones.'

'I love you, Jack Harkness.'

_Not knowing when the dawn will come_

_I open every door. _

_Or has it feathers like a bird_

_Or billows like a shore? _

_– Emily Dickinson(1830-1886) Not Knowing_

A/N:_ Man! This was a BEAR to finish! I had hoped to finish this chapter in September, but well…stuff just happens! Anywho – A LOT had been going on here – and hopefully it has calmed down. So – NEXT UP: _They Keep Killing Suzie_…and a visit to the Lethbridge-Stewarts._

_And – using my Bard, Stephen King – _

"_A plaque used to sit on my supervisor's desk that read: PERFECT PARANOIA IS PERFECT AWARENESS. I kind of took that one to heart…perfect awareness.' – Golden Years, a mini-series._

_So tune in next for_ The Archivist's Archives: Perfect Awareness – Suzie's Return…and Re-Exit.


	6. Chapter 6: Author's Note

Author's Note: _Hello everyone. I know it's been a while since I've written_ The Archivist's Archives – _a lot has happened recently on the personal front. After a prolonged illness, my baby Mi-Meow, Munchkin, lost her battle and died on 2 November, 2010. For me, it was a devastating loss both emotionally and financially. Munchkin was only 11 years old…she was taken from me too soon. She was always sickly and I just didn't realize how bad off she really was until it was too late. So, at the moment, my creative spark is pretty much dead. I'm really too hurt and angry with myself to think of Torchwood…_

_I may have another short story working in my head…it's going to be angry and a bit dark (because that's how I feel at the moment). And I hope this jumpstarts me again… So, I'm not walking away from _Archives_…just taking a break…_

_Thanks for reading this…and I hope you understand. I am_

_Sincerely,_

_Darque_


	7. Chapter 7: A Journey of Revenge

_Hey Kids! Sorry I've been away for so long from this fic. Thank you to everyone that put this story as a Favorite and on Story Alert. I am beyond flattered. And thank demama66 for giving me a swift kick in the creative keester! _

_So….They Keep Killing Suzie. The original is a bit twisted in how Suzie came up with a rather unique way of beating death. Of course, there were plot holes you could pilot starships through…but then, it is science fiction. There will always be plot holes...and we fanfiction writers will be forever grateful for them! _

_We're coming up to something big…so hopefully I will do these ideas some justice. Originally I was going to use a quote from a Stephen King series, but I decided a quote from the Chinese Philosopher Confucius made more sense concerning this chapter. So…we have Suzie and her twisted climb back into the Land of the Living. I was also going to put our meeting with the Lethbridge-Stewards in this chapter…but it was running too long, so next chapter for sure!_

_I mention this now in homage to Nicholas Courtney, our dear Brig, who passed away on 22nd February 2011 at the ripe old age of 81. I also want to mention the passing of Elisabeth Sladen on 20th April 2011 at the age of 63. Dear, dear Sarah Jane…you will be so missed. Because you were **our **Sarah Jane. And the quote:_

"_Before you begin on a journey of revenge – dig two graves." – Kon Fu-Tse_

_Once again – RTD & BBC Cymru own everything, not making a red cent off of this (though I'd really love to!) – I give you…_

**Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives**

**Chapter Seven: A Journey of Revenge**

It was another dream…

_The Toclafane were pouring from a rent in the sky that The Paradox Machine created, raining death and destruction wherever they fell. Ianto and Martha watched in horror as sections of London went up in firestorms that rivaled the Blitzkrieg. Martha held Ianto's hand in a death grip._

'_Mum…Dad…Trish,' she mumbled. 'Jack and The Doctor.' She turned to Ianto then. 'What are we going to do?'_

_Ianto smiled grimly then. 'No, Martha Jones,' he whispered, looking into the overwhelmed young woman's eyes. 'What are YOU going to do?'_

The scene then shifted…

_He and Jack were running…the TARDIS needed them. They had to save her, save the Earth…tear apart all the evil that had been wrought. The Not Toclafane were attacking…the TARDIS was wounded…so wounded. The Vortex within her could no longer be contained…he could hear its weeping song. The TARDIS' beautiful song…her horrifying song…her song of loss and rebirth. The Song of Time._

**_I bring life! I bring life! I bring pain…sorrow…death. I bring joy…love…eternity. I bring life! I BRING LIFE! _I BRING LIFE!**

_Ianto began screaming then as his entire field of vision was filled with light. A bright light…a horrifying light…an all consuming light…._

Ianto snapped awake gasping just as his alarm went off. The sun shone cheerfully through the chinks of the drapes hanging in his bedroom. He was home…he was safe. Groaning, he remembered something an American tourist had said the day before when he had asked how she was doing when she walked into the Tourist Information Centre.

'Just another shitty day in Paradise,' he moaned softly as he sat up in the bed. The warm body next to him snaked a strong arm up his chest and pulled him back into the welcome comfort and warmth under the duvet.

'Another fifteen minutes,' Jack groaned. Ianto lay back down and hummed in agreement. The world hadn't come to an end quite yet…it could wait a bit longer.

~~TW~~

Ianto was the one that took the call from Cardiff police; a D.I. Kathy Swanson contacted them saying that Torchwood was needed at a police crime scene. It was a double homicide that had a connection to another murder that occurred the day before. As he rung off, Ianto could feel something was wrong with the Detective.

_Be careful, Yannie_, his Mam's voice said softly. _She is in pain…she lost someone dear and blames the Captain for it._

'I'll take that under advisement,' he said grimly. 'Thanks, Mam.'

After he relayed all the information he was able to pull from the Police database concerning what was going on, the others got ready to go the crime scene. Tosh originally was going to remain behind, but Ianto pushed her to go with the others. 'I'll keep you updated via the comms. I am Administrative Support, after all,' he added.

Jack breezed over and took Ianto's hand in his. 'We may need you along on this one – Tosh stays here,' he said softly. Tosh simply nodded, smiling in understanding. It wasn't because of Mary – it was because whatever was going on, Ianto was better suited to help. Jack then turned to the young man. 'And you're more than Administrative Support, I hope you know.'

Tosh's smile grew wider as she handed Ianto a Bluetooth headset. 'Go on,' said as she pushed him towards Jack. Ianto nodded as he put the headset on and turned to follow the others.

Owen took the keys to the SUV only to have Jack take them from him – to then have Ianto snatch them out of his hand. 'I'm doing this to protect the elderly, small children not in school and cats wandering the streets at large,' he said smoothly as he collected and holstered his Torchwood issue sidearm.

Gwen and Owen laughed at Jack's pout.

~~TWTWTW~~

No one was laughing as Ianto drove the SUV up to the taped off area of the crime scene. As everyone stepped out of the SUV and rounded towards the boot to collect their gear, Ianto _reached out_ and almost fell over in surprise.

Jack put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. 'What is it?' he asked softly. 'Is it the cops?' Jack's abilities weren't as honed as Ianto's, but he could feel the animosity bleeding off the police presence.

'No,' said Ianto, collecting himself. 'What's in the room…we're being set up,' Ianto mused softly. 'And the D.I. has a chip on her shoulder against Torchwood the size of Jupiter.'

Gwen and Owen had collected the equipment and sample containment boxes and joined Jack and Ianto. Owen took one look at the Welshman and sighed. 'It's bad, isn't it?' he asked. Ianto simply nodded and put on a pair of sunglasses. The others did the same.

'Okay kids,' Jack said encouragingly, slapping on his 1,000 megawatt smile. 'Showtime.'

~~TW~~

'Oh my God!' Gwen exclaimed as they entered the room and looked onto the crime scene.

'Looks like somebody wants your attention,' D.I. Swanson said sardonically.

Jack took off his sunglasses as he looked at the word 'TORCHWOOD' written in blood on the wall above the bed. The two victims lay sprawled underneath, their throats cut. 'They got it,' he answered grimly.

~~TW~~

As Jack spoke with Swanson, Ianto paced the room slowly; trying to _feel_ for anything. This whole situation had his skin crawling…it reminded him of Suzie and that damned Glove. She would have been beside herself at the prospect of resurrecting the dead. As he looked over to Owen and Gwen, he was suddenly taken away by his own memories…

_Suzie was excited when the call came through about the first murder. Ianto felt she was just too damned happy about it. He listened…to see if he could hear anything. But he was so tired between cleaning up after everyone, taking care of Lisa, fixing the disaster known as The Archives and keeping Jack's advances at bay that his telepathic abilities were at their lowest. He heard nothing…and that really worried him. As time wore on however, he knew when he laid eyes on that metal appendage…it had an affinity to Suzie Costello. It wanted her…and it was going to be the death of her._

He came back to himself as he heard Swanson speaking to Jack.

'We found a few of the killer's hairs at the first murder scene. Victim was a single white male, Alex Arwyn, 28. He was an estate agent. The lab results are still pending,' she answered as she handed him a file on the first murder.

'They knew him,' Ianto said aloud suddenly.

Swanson's eyed narrowed on Ianto. 'So…are you blaming the victims?' she asked viciously.

'No,' Ianto responded quickly. 'Are you?'

Swanson straightened her back at that and opened her mouth to issue a scathing retort – but Ianto cut her off with his quiet voice.

'Take your prejudice of Torchwood out of the equation, Detective. Whoever did this wanted to put us at odds. And since it is no secret how the local police feel about Torchwood, what better way to enrage the bull then to wave a red flag in its face?' he asked, pointing to the wall to make his point. 'Have you even looked for an alternative explanation for the murders – or were just expecting us to know?'

Swanson almost growled as Ianto calmly walked around the room, making sure not to disturb any of the SOCO personnel who were leaving.

'Did you know these people?' Swanson asked, turning to Jack.

Jack smirked at her. 'You know that we can't say – matters of National Security,' he answered, looking to the corpses displayed almost obscenely on the white sheets of the bed covered in blood. He turned back to the detective. 'I am sorry, but we do have some highly sensitive equipment we are going to use that is strictly need to know.'

Swanson sighed then. 'It was only a matter of time,' she ground out.

'What was?' Jack asked, feeling the anger and vitriol rolling off the young woman like a suffocating sludge.

'Torchwood walks over this city like you own it. Now these people are paying the price – ordinary people being ripped apart with your name written in their own blood.' Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Swanson continued. 'And after Canary Wharf, I don't trust anyone from Torchwood,' she spat out.

'Who did you lose there?' Ianto asked, stepping out from behind the Captain. Swanson gasped, not realizing the young man had been there the whole time and shifted her hate filled gaze from Jack to The Archivist. And Ianto _saw…_

_She had a younger sister, Eliza (_Her Best Friend_, Mam whispered), working one building over from the Torchwood Tower. She was a Research Assistant for a prominent barrister – and when the Daleks escaped from their prison over the skies of London, they came out firing. The air was filled with laser fire…and Eliza was killed while Kathy was on the phone with her telling her to get the hell out! If she hadn't been on the phone with her – she might have escaped…she might have survived…if…if…if._

'I am so sorry,' Ianto said softly. 'I was there – and I lost _everything_ that was important to me.' He then looked over to Jack and the others. 'But in coming back here – I have received so much more in return.'

Kathy Swanson looked at Ianto Jones with new eyes – and realized that she just might have a kindred spirit within Torchwood. 'I'm…I'm sorry,' she said softly.

'There's nothing to be sorry about. We are not the enemy, Detective Inspector. Captain Harkness is not Torchwood London, but whoever set this up _knew_ how to set you off…to skewer your perceptions. Like I said before – take your emotions out of the equation,' Ianto answered softly, putting his hand on her shoulder in comfort. 'Look at all of the _facts_ with new eyes – and hopefully between the lot of us we can fix this before someone else dies.'

Swanson nodded and swallowed thickly. 'Just…just let me know when you are done.'

Ianto nodded and led her to the door, closing it softly behind her as she left. When he turned around, he found the others simply staring at him. 'What?' he asked.

'Nothing,' Jack answered quickly. 'Just…good work.' He then turned back to the gory scene on the bed. 'You ready for this?' he asked as Ianto joined him.

'As I'll ever be,' he said tapping his Bluetooth. 'Tosh?'

'Audio and video recording equipment is in place and online. Everything you say from this point on will be recorded. Whenever you are ready,' Tosh answered.

Ianto nodded and, holding his right hand out, touched Sarah Briscoe's exposed arm.

_It was dark and quiet in the room – a noise suddenly roused her out of slumber. The window curtain was open again – the street lamp was letting a white-yellow glow in…and suddenly a shape stepped into the light. She looked up and saw a flash of silver…and then it was dark and quiet again._

'She didn't see him – just the knife,' Ianto gasped out as he let go of the woman's arm. He then looked up…and slowly backed away from the bed.

'Ianto?' Jack asked, looking to his lover with a worried expression on his face. As he moved to put his hand on Ianto's shoulder, Ianto stepped forward and touched Mark Briscoe's hand –

_The gurgling noise his wife made is what woke him – as he looked up and saw MAX, a spray of blood covering one side of his face, glaring above him with wild eyes. He realizes in a moment of horrifying clarity that the blood is his wife's._

'_MAX? Oh God! Max! What the fu-?' He never finishes his question as the knife in Max's hand slices down across his neck. The man, Max Trezellian, leans close to the dying man's ear, unmindful of the blood staining the pristine white sheets, and whispers a single, hate filled word._

'**TORCHWOOD!'**

He catches flashes of the dead man's memories as his consciousness fades into the darkness…

_- Sarah hosting a gathering – 'Once a week, every Tuesday at 7pm!' she calls out cheerfully as she hands out sheets with the word 'PILGRIM' printed across the top._

_- Max, smiling and chatting quietly as he takes a plate of nibbles and sits in a nice comfy chair offered to him by Mark – 'Here! Take mine, Big Man!' he remarks, smiling. Max and everyone else laugh along._

_- A cute blonde by the name of Lucy (Lucy Mackenzie, his Mam whispers) sits in the small chair almost claimed by Max._

_- Alex Arwyn takes a chair to the one side of Max – and **SUZIE** is sitting on the other side of the large man, smiling along with the rest of the group… _

He gasped then, dropping the dead man's hand. 'His wife held meetings for a group she created called "_Pilgrim_", after "_The Pilgrim's Progress_"? It was like a religious debating society; asking the seriously deep questions. Does God exist? Where do we go after we die? Things like that…and apparently that was where our Suzie went every Tuesday night.'

The others, including Tosh over the comms, gasped at that final tidbit of information. Jack and Owen looked to the young man.

'You sure about that, TeaBoy?' Owen asked.

Ianto simply nodded…then backed away from the bed again.

'All right,' Jack began slowly. 'Not that I'm over observing or anything - .'

'But you are,' Ianto interjected.

'That's the second time you've backed away from the bed for no reason. What's wrong?' Jack finished.

'Don't know, Jack,' Ianto answered, his voice going soft. 'Just something weird…feels…_wrong_. Something…old…rank. _Forbidden. "Bring Out Your Dead".'_

Owen, Gwen and Jack were used to Ianto spouting out strange things, so this wasn't anything new. Then Jack and Owen remembered the last time they heard that saying said far too many times. Ianto then looked up, recognition lighting his own eyes. Gwen was totally in the dark…and didn't like it.

'What? Why is that saying so important to you lot?' she asked.

'Jack…this really has something to do with _Suzie_,' Ianto growled.

Now Jack knew there was no love lost between his former Second and Ianto, but he never found out why. She was dead and gone – and Ianto was now in his bed and life. At first he thought it was jealousy – he was sleeping with Suzie at the time and he knew that she waved that little fact in the faces of Owen, Ianto and Tosh. When she and Owen had their short lived affair, she made sure Tosh knew all about it. He never understood her need for negative attention, but now he knew about the darker side of Suzie Costello. And he felt there was a far more sinister reason for his lover's feelings towards their dead colleague.

'It was a saying Suzie would say when we had a murder she could try the Glove on,' Tosh explained calmly over the comm to Gwen since no one else had answered.

Ianto nodded in agreement. 'This has something to do with that damned…THING!' he all but spat out. 'It's…it's like a rancid smell…like over ripe fruit or rotted meat. Something that once had life…and has decayed.'

'There are two dead bodies here,' Owen pointed out.

'That's not it, Owen. And you damn well know it!' Ianto exclaimed angrily – _and both bedside tables shifted three feet away from the bed towards the walls. _

'Oh…kay,' Jack said, putting his hand on Ianto's shoulder. 'Let's just dial this back a bit.'

Ianto sighed heavily and looked up apologetically at Jack, then Owen. 'Sorry…it's just. Suzie…Suzie knew I was hiding something…Lisa. Only she never found out what. Our little _deal_ was that I did what she wanted and she left me alone. She…she had me use that damned THING! It's like the worst April Fool's Day Joke…because they'd honestly forget that they were dead. They'd think they were injured and cried out for help – or a doctor...or their Mam. It was horrible. They'd be brought back for seconds at best…two minutes was the maximum.' He then looked to Jack. 'We need to find this Max…and soon. Whatever has happened to him…if this is Suzie's doing, he's as good as dead.'

'Jack?' Tosh's voice cut through all of their headsets, making everyone jump. Jack tapped his earpiece.

'Go ahead, Tosh,' he answered.

'DNA and toxicology results are in. Already have a copy on my screen. Just looking it ov-,' she gasped suddenly.

'Tosh?' Jack asked.

'Everything looks normal, Caucasian male, mid 40's, smokes, drinks tequila – and has an astronomical amount of Compound B-67 in his blood,' Tosh answered grimly. Everyone was stunned into silence.

Owen was the first one to recover. 'How much?' he asked.

'I don't know how this man is still walking,' Tosh mused. 'The D.I. is receiving the hard copy now; get it from her. I really would love to know how a supposedly proprietary compound made it out into the real world enough so that they were able to give it a chemical name,' she finished somewhat drily.

'Story for another time, Tosh,' Jack answered. 'We have a name – Max Trezellian. See what you can dig up on him. There may be more members of this debating society out there -.'

'There is,' Ianto said, cutting Jack off. 'One more; a girl – young blonde uni student. Name's Mackenzie; Lucy Mackenzie.'

'Got that?' Jack asked.

'Loud and clear, Boss,' Tosh answered. 'Should have all the important stuff for you lot when you return. Coffee, however, will have to wait until the Coffee King himself returns.'

The other smiled at that. 'See you soon, Tosh,' Ianto said, ending the call.

Jack looked to his crew and everyone began putting everything away into the holdalls – and Ianto made the bedside tables slide back to where they were before his outburst.

Jack smiled at him – and he heard his Mam's voice…_Be careful, my son…_

'Always Mam,' he whispered. 'And thank you.'

~~TW o0o TW~~

'So,' Jack began as everyone piled back into the SUV. 'You get the report from Swanson?'

'Kathy,' Ianto said, looking at Jack disapprovingly. 'She handed me the original and a copy. I gave her the original back – after I blocked out the compound name with the Torchwood Seal and a number to the Crown Department of Inquiries. But I think everything will end there.'

Jack took in Ianto's smug countenance as he turned the SUV on, and checking the mirrors for traffic, drove smoothly away from the crime scene. _Spill, Jones_**,** he said. _What did you do?_

Ianto's smile grew. _I did the equivalent of a perception filter on that part of the report._

Jack returned the smile – and felt his body harden at that. This beautiful boy was just one surprise after another.

'So – what do we do next?' Gwen asked, angry at how Jack and Ianto were practically stripping each other with their eyes. Ianto laughed suddenly and Jack joined him. Gwen looked on in confusion until Owen leaned over to the former PC.

'They both can hear what you are thinking, Cooper,' he explained, smiling at her reddening face and wide eyes.

'We find Lucy before Max does. And we try to help him before he gets worse,' Jack answered, a small smile still on his lips. 'The coroner's office was going to transfer the body of the first victim, Alex Arwyn, to us. But Owen and I told them we didn't need it; everything we needed to learn I think we have already.'

Ianto nodded. 'We already know who murdered the poor sod. And since the police have confirmed that both murder scenes were similar...,' Jack let his voice drift off then as he looked over to Ianto.

Ianto smiled then, looking to the doctor, then to his lover. 'Thank you, both of you, for looking out for me,' he answered as he pulled the SUV smoothly into the carpark.

'Well,' said Gwen smiling brightly. 'That was without a doubt the best ride I've ever had to and from a crime scene. Thank you for watching out for all of us, Ianto.'

Everyone smiled as they began removing their containment boxes from the SUV's boot. Tosh's voice crackled over their headsets. 'Got all the information you requested Jack.'

'Okay,' Jack answered as they got on the interior lift. 'Boardroom in five, people.'

~~TW o0o TW~~

Everyone was gathered around the board table with copies of the gathered intel and cups of Ianto's coffee as Gwen made a statement that froze the blood in the young man's veins.

'But Jack – why don't we just ask the victims?'

'_**No Gwen!**_' Ianto almost yelled; his voice twisted with rage and fear. Jack shook in his chair from the shockwave of all the emotions coming from his young lover. The one that stood out was absolute terror. 'Did you hear _nothing_ of what I said before? That thing…it is the antithesis of Life. It doesn't give…it tricks. It lies…it…it _**takes**_.' He looked up at the others then, his face suddenly going pale. 'Oh…oh my God,' he whispered, his voice shaking. '_Owain?_' he yelled out.

Everyone watched as a golden light appeared next to where Ianto was seated. Jack's hand suddenly took hold of Ianto's as the Faire One solidified before them.

**Yes Cousin**, Owain answered, the light around him changing into the clothing of a medieval country lord.

'Did it…that _thing_ do what I think it did?' he asked.

Owain sighed. **Yes, Cousin**, he answered. Ianto gasped then, grasping onto Jack's hand as if it were a lifeline.

'Ianto,' Jack began, his voice in a questioning tone.

'She…she made me use it, Jack. Because she knew its secret. It gives life for a short time, but if you push it…it can bring the dead back. But only at the cost of the wearer's life. That was why I would feel so weak after I'd use it for her…because it was fucking killing me!' Ianto shook in both anger and terror at what could have been unleashed. 'We have to destroy that thing!'

'Why?' Tosh asked.

'Yeah!' Gwen chimed in. 'Why?'

'What about Suzie?' Owen asked. 'Why didn't it kill her?'

'Who says it didn't?' Jack commented.

'But why didn't it kill her…or weaken her like it did Ianto?' Gwen asked.

'Because _she_ never pushed it,' Ianto said haltingly, as if he were re-living the memories of Suzie's all-knowing grin while he wore the metal Glove. He turned to Owain. 'How the _hell_ did she know?'

_Because, Cousin. Her people created it,_ the Faire one answered.

'What?' Jack exclaimed. The solid man then glowed, staring angrily at the Captain.

_Did you not ask her where her people were from? Did it not surprise you how quickly she accepted your offer? She joined your team not to help you or Cardiff's citizenry, Captain. She joined because she was looking for something. She was searching out The Glove…and its companion Knife. He then turned to Ianto and placed a softly glowing hand gently on the young man's shoulder. We would have taken you away if it was ever a question of life or death, Cousin. And then we would have filled the skin of Suzie Costello with rose petals and leaves and bracken until it burst. She knew of your lineage, knew who your mother was…and the extent of your abilities. She read the reports that were stored in the bowels of this place – on behalf of UNIT._

Ianto gasped at that revelation and Owain gripped his shoulder a little tighter.

_We would never take you now unless you ask, Dearest. But you are of my blood…of Cerys' blood.__**And we will protect our own.**_ His hand then left Ianto's shoulder and caressed his cheek lightly. The Faire then looked to Jack as he stepped away from Ianto. _Search her possessions, Captain_, he whispered as he began to fade from their view. _The answers you seek will be there. Do NOT use the Gauntlet. The being it latches onto will be drained – and the Dead One will be dead no more._

'Thank you, Cousin,' Ianto said softly to the empty space. 'Thank you for your wisdom and protection.'

Jack practically leapt over the table and took hold of Ianto. 'He…You,' he began, then gave up speaking for clutching the Welshman closer to his chest.

'They have asked, Jack,' Ianto explained quietly. 'But I have not accepted their invitation.'

'Why not?' Tosh asked, reminding both men that the rest of the team was still in the room.

'Because I have too much to give up here,' Ianto answered, his gaze never leaving Jack's. Jack kissed him soundly at that.

'Okay,' Owen said loudly. 'Bloody well break it up.'

Jack pulled back and passed a hand over the young man's brow. _We are going to talk about this_**,** he said into his mind.

Ianto smiled in response. _Of course, Cariad._

~~TW o0o TW~~

Welsh weather was at its finest with rain coming down in freezing sheets as the SUV pulled up to an outdoor storage facility. Everyone piled out and Tosh brought up her PDA to get the code to open the locker's gate when Ianto stopped her.

'Allow me,' he said softly as he held his left hand to the electronic keypad – and it beeped, automatically raising the corrugated gate. Tosh just smiled at him.

'Full of surprises, you are,' Gwen added, smirking.

The five of them stood outside in the rain, looking into the open maw of the darkened locker, lit only by the headlamps of the SUV. 'Enter with respect, people. Good, bad or indifferent – she was one of us once,' Jack said as he stepped inside.

Gwen entered, slightly perplexed. 'Does Torchwood get all of my stuff when I die?' she asked. 'Just stash it all away in a storage locker?'

Smirking, Jack nodded. 'Rules and Regulations,' he answered from behind a stack of boxes in a rolling cage.

'What if I leave my stuff to Rhys?' she asked.

Ianto snorted, hearing Jack's response before he spoke it. 'Then we'll stash him away to.'

Ianto then guffawed aloud; Gwen's retort was just too good. 'Got to get through his Mam first,' she answered back.

Everyone laughed at that. 'So,' Jack began. 'We're looking for a connection to _Pilgrim_…and her past.' He looked to Ianto. 'Any ideas on where to start?'

As Jack spoke the words, a small box in a rolling cage at the far corner of the shed began to glow. Ianto smirked. 'Very subtle,' he murmured to the air as he walked over to the cage and peered at the box. He could hear children laughing – and sent a message of thanks. He turned to look at the others and saw they were continuing searches of their own. He was the only one to hear the laughter and see the glow – and he was glad the Faire were being discrete.

'Here,' Ianto called as he pulled the cage out of its corner and opened it. 'Top box.' Tosh cycled through the manifest on her PDA once she scanned the bar coded serial number off of the box.

'This is filled with things from her bedroom closet,' she said softly. 'There was only one item of note. An old wooden box – looked like a pirate's chest; it even had iron bands and rings on it.'

'Yeah,' Owen chimed in. 'Kept giving me the creeps every time I looked at it.'

'Or another type of perception filter,' Ianto murmured as he pulled the tape from the cardboard box. Pushing aside the shoes, trainers, hats and gloves stuffed within the box Ianto felt the iron handle of their quarry and pulled it up and out.

Owen looked at it – and immediately turned away. Tosh did the same. When Gwen and Jack came over Gwen also looked away, yet Jack and Ianto were not affected. Owen looked to Jack and tried to look at the chest once more, but instead turned away again.

'Why?' Owen asked.

'Psychic shielding,' Jack answered, amazed. 'That's why Suzie was so fascinated with you, Ianto.'

'What?' Gwen asked. 'Why?'

'Suzie was marginally gifted,' Ianto answered.

'What do you mean, "marginally"?' Owen asked.

'You guys have little to no psychic abilities or gifts,' Jack answered. 'If we were to use…oh, mountains of the world to describe your gifts you three would be ground level. Now Suzie…Suzie was a bit higher….let's say North America's Mount Hood. Me? I guess I'd be K-2.'

Ianto nodded smiling – and sent Jack several inappropriate images. Jack coughed as he tried to cover the smile on his face. 'But Ianto,' he continued. 'Ianto is _mountain ranges_. He's Mount Everest…and the Himalayas. The Andes and The Sierra-Nevadas. At this moment in time I'd say he's the most powerful human psychic on Earth.'

The three turned to Ianto and looked at him with new eyes. 'But why couldn't you tell what was going on with Suzie?' Gwen asked. 'She almost killed me - !'

'Word of note there is "almost",' Ianto said softly. 'Between caring for Lisa and the others – and doing Suzie's "research", I was at my limits. But that night I could hear her like she was screaming out her thoughts. Every time she aimed the gun at you, but she couldn't fire? That was because I wouldn't let her.'

'And when she shot at Jack?' Gwen asked.

'I couldn't stop her anymore. Remember when you and Jack came into The Hub and found me asleep in the Archives?'

Gwen nodded, remembering how tired and worn Ianto had looked at the time. 'I was so angry at you,' she murmured. 'I thought you were being lazy. You…you had passed out, hadn't you?'

Ianto nodded, uncomfortable with discussing what happened that night. He then looked down at the chest. 'I think we should open it in the Hub. I don't want to do anything with it here. It…feels odd. Out of place…,' he shook his head then and looked over to Jack. The Captain gave him a soft smile.

'Works for me, Jones,' he said. 'Besides, we still have to find Lucy Mackenzie and Max.' He walked over and pulled a moving blanket covering a few boxes over the chest. Everyone visibly relaxed at that; Owen and Tosh blew out sighs of relief.

'Wow,' said Tosh aloud. 'I really had no idea how on edge I was because of that thing -.'

'Until it got covered,' Owen finished.

Gwen, however, said nothing – and both Jack and Ianto made note of that.

Jack picked up the box, and tucking it and the blanket under his arm, looked to his wristwatch. 'Almost clubbing time,' he said softly. 'Did you get an address for Lucy's place of employment, Tosh?'

Tosh grimaced as she pulled up the information on her PDA. 'Dive called "The Wolf Bar",' she answered.

Jack smiled. 'Okay – punch the address into the SAT NAV of the SUV. I'll drop you off at the Hub with this thing and we'll go to the bar. Get MainFrame to record everything – hopefully we'll be returning with a guest.'

~~TWTWTW~~

The establishment, Owen thought, had to be called a "bar". Because calling it a "club" would have the place and its patrons putting on airs.

Ianto snorted behind the medic, who turned to him and smiled. He knew Ianto had heard him. A few months previous it would have completely freaked him out, but now…now he realized it wasn't a bad thing. And, more importantly, he knew Ianto meant no harm.

_Thank you_, he heard Ianto say softly.

'You are welcome,' he returned.

'What was that, Owen?' Jack called out over the comms.

'Nothing Boss,' he said loudly. Jack simply nodded.

'Tosh? Can you see and hear?' he asked.

'I'm seeing and hearing everything, Jack,' Tosh answered as she looked at the CCTV cameras for the place and the team's headsets. 'I've not seen our girl yet. Keep circling. I called just before you got in – the person that answered said she was on the floor so she has to be there somewhere.'

After a particularly heartfelt scream from the dubious music blaring through the speakers, Gwen groaned loudly. 'Bloody hell,' she groused. 'Got the headache from Hell and this sorry excuse for music is not helping.'

'Know what you mean,' Owen added. 'This place is a bit…dumpier then I'm used to.'

Ianto laughed at that. 'Good one, Owen.' He then _felt_ something brush on the edge of his conscious. It was an echo…of Suzie's voice. As he scanned the patrons moshing in the center of the dancefloor, he heard again…_stronger_.

As Ianto began looking through the crowd, Tosh noticed his video feed moving towards the dancefloor. 'Ianto,' she called out. 'Have you got something?'

'He's close…I. Oh…God! I hear _Suzie's voice_…and it's getting louder,' Ianto answered his voice tight.

Owen then called out, 'I've got our girl Lucy – and maybe our guy. Oh-oh…shit! He's making his move!'

Through the vid feeds, Tosh could see the man in question – and watched as Owen moved in to intercept before anything happened to Lucy. As Owen's feed got closer, Tosh realized one small fact. 'Owen!' she yelled. 'Wrong guy!' As she panned the CCTV, she saw something that shocked her. Gwen…was standing back and smiling.

~~TWTWTW~~

Ever since the storage lockup, Gwen was out of sorts. She kept hearing voices…telling her she was wasted working in the shadow of Cap'n Jack and his lover Tea Boy.

_Trust us…the Glove is the key to ultimate power. The Psychic bastard was just too weak to try and command it…control it. It tried to kill him – because he was useless! But you…Gwen Cooper. You are so much more. You can harness our power – you can bring the dead back to life!_

As she listened, she knew the voices were lying. Jack and TeaB – _Ianto_ – would always take care of her. But she couldn't deny that niggling envy in her heart. That first night that she had met everyone…Jack took _her_ out for a drink alone. Granted, it was so that he could make her forget…but the voices began a new, more sinister litany.

_Ianto knew Jack liked you. Maybe Ianto did something to Jack. With his abilities he's changed the way Jack feels about you._

Gwen's heart hardened at that – even as another voice in her head screamed at her to remember Rhys – the man that _truly_ loved her! As she stood in the bar – the cacophony of the so-called music blaring in the background – she couldn't come up with any reasons _not_ to listen to the voices. Two voices…one was Suzie's – the other…it had to be The Glove itself!

And IANTO was trying to step in the way of her greatness! She started at that…where the HELL did that come from? Gwen wanted to call out to Ianto then, to beg for help and forgiveness…but then…she just _floated away_.

~~TW~~

'IANTO!' Tosh screamed into their comms. 'BEHIND YOU!'

Without thinking, Ianto crouched low and _pushed out_. All the people surrounding him were knocked down and pushed away in a three foot circle – except for a large man wielding a knife and Gwen. Owen grabbed for Lucy and pulled her away and out of the mass of bodies on the floor as Jack got closer to the big man, Max. Max, seeing Jack out of the corner of his eye, turned the knife around and threw it hilt first in Ianto's direction. Ianto, meanwhile, was distracted by the twisted grin on Gwen's face. It wasn't Gwen's, it was Suzie's. And then the hilt of Max's knife sailed through the air, smacking Ianto on the side of his face, knocking him out and dropping him to the dancefloor.

Jack hit Max in the back with his stun gun set at maximum. The large man fell over unconscious as Jack flew towards Ianto's body on the floor. Owen was already there while young Lucy was being looked after by a dazed looking Gwen.

'He's okay, Jack,' Owen stated after a quick once over. 'Nasty bump – nothing more. He should wake up once we are back at The Hub.' He turned to Max then. 'Come on – you and I have to lug the biggun out.'

Jack eyed Gwen angrily – she did absolutely _nothing_ to protect Ianto. What the hell was wrong with her? Owen looked up once he was done cuffing Max. 'Later, Jack,' he said, following Jack's gaze. Jack nodded and gathered Ianto into his arms.

'I'm putting him in the SUV, then I'll help you with Max. Keep an eye on Gwen,' Jack ordered roughly. Owen nodded as he watched his boss leave with their unconscious team mate. He knew something was off with Gwen since the lock-up. Now…he was really worried. Jack returned quickly, and between the pair of them, they hefted the large man up and away while Gwen waited for the police with Lucy.

From The Hub, Tosh did not miss the smug look on the former PC's face. Nor could she quell the nervous feeling in her stomach. 'Ianto's scurrying furry intestinal creatures,' she murmured, remembering a discussion they had after Mary. She just hoped everyone would make it back before anything got worse.

~~TW~~

On the way back to The Hub, Owen drove while Gwen sat up front with him and Jack sat in the back wrapped around a still unconscious Ianto. Max was thankfully out cold in the back. Gwen glowered in the seat when she looked through her visor mirror to the two lovers.

_We can help you,_ Suzie and the other voice whispered**. **_I can get you into the Secure Archives. You can get the Glove and be all that you can be. Rescue Jack! Bring me back! All you have to do is say –_

'Yes,' Gwen murmured softly.

~~TW~~

Jack accommodated Ianto on the metal table of the Med Bay that Tosh had padded with a few comforters while Tosh and Owen took a compliant Max Trezellian down to the cells. Jack wrapped Ianto in another warm comforter and kissed him tenderly on his forehead.

'Back in a bit,' he whispered as he kissed him again, this time on his lips. He then marched up to the main area, intent on giving Gwen a piece of his mind. But the main area was empty – and Gwen's comm unit was sitting on her desk. 'Guys,' Jack said as he tapped his own comm to life. 'Comm check.'

'Check,' Owen and Tosh echoed as they quickened their pace. A comm check meant Jack was uneasy about something. With out a doubt it had to do with Gwen, they all were perturbed by what happened.

~~TW~~

Jack looked up and saw movement in his office. He _reached out_ as Ianto had shown him – and knew it was Gwen…and _something else_. When he opened the door to his office, he found Gwen had opened the safe door to the Secure Archives and had removed the box holding the Glove and Knife.

'Gwen?' he yelled. 'What the hell is going on?'

Gwen looked up at him – and Jack almost recoiled at what he saw and felt. She smiled at him, but the smile was more like a gruesome parody of one; all teeth and no warmth. 'I'm saving you, Jack,' she said softly. 'I'm becoming what I was always supposed to be.'

'And what is that?' Jack asked, his hand inching causally towards his holstered Wembley.

'You love me…but Ianto has poisoned your mind to me…made you believe you only need him…I can save you from his witchcraft,' Gwen continued, her voice soft and almost dreamy.

Jack raised his weapon then, but Gwen was quicker and shot him in the head with her own gun that had been hidden behind the Secure Box. 'You'll see I'm right!' she whispered hotly. 'Max! NOW!'

~~TW~~

Owen and Tosh were shocked at the words pouring out of Gwen. They knew she had a bit of a hero worship complex with Jack, but then again they all did when they first met him. The gunshot and the silence that followed was horrifying – but worse yet was Max suddenly becoming animated and slamming the pair of them into each other. He then removed their weapons while they were dazed and tossed them into the cell they had prepared for him.

Owen was the first to come to and watched as Max left the cell block; Gwen joined him in the darkened hallway. She took the weapons he removed from them and handed him the Glove instead. Then they both silently walked away as Owen began to hammer angrily on the thick Plexiglas with his fist.

In the morgue, Gwen found the manifest of the dead and looked to see where Suzie was placed. She realized the whole list was handwritten…_in Ianto's neat script!_

_Ianto!_ Her mind screamed. _HELP!_

Max then put a steadying hand on her shoulder and silenced the tiny rebellious voice within her – but that tiny voice was enough for Ianto to claw his way back to consciousness…

~~TW~~

Jack suddenly gasped back to life. He groaned as he sat up. Head shots always hurt like hell afterwards – and served to disorient him for a few seconds. Then he remembered – and launched himself at the CCTV monitors. He saw Ianto walking towards the cells on the 2nd level. _Ianto!_ He called out.

_There you are_, the calm voice answered. Jack smiled, then felt his lover's sorrow at not being with him when he awoke.

_Another time,_ he whispered. He felt Ianto's grim acknowledgement as he went to the weapons locker and began pulling weapons for himself, Owen and Tosh. _I'm putting the base into lock-down._

_Are you out of the Weapons Locker?_ Ianto asked, as he continued down.

_Out now. Why?_ Jack asked. The lights suddenly went out and the blue and red emergency lights kicked on. Jack smiled. _How long?_ He asked.

_Twelve hour lock-down_,came the calm reply.

_Something else Torchwood One showed you?_ Jack asked, his tone playful.

Ianto smiled wondering how he got so lucky finding someone as understanding as The Captain. _You can say that. I'll get Owen and Tosh. We'll meet outside the morgue in five minutes._

_Okay,_ Jack answered as he began his trek down to the morgue. _And you better show how appreciative you are of my…understanding later._

Ianto wasn't sure if his face could contain the smile his was sporting.

~~TW~~

Tosh was trying desperately to open the door to the cell she and Owen were trapped in when the lights went off throughout the base. She turned to Owen, her eyes wide with fear when the emergency lighting turned on.

'It's Okay,' Owen said, putting a hand on her shoulder. 'Let's get out of here first; we'll save the world second.'

And suddenly the door to their cell clicked open and swung away. Owen took hold of Tosh and tucked her behind him. Tosh took hold of Owen's shoulders and raised her leg up the side of his body. Owen was stunned as he watched her pull a rapier blade from her boot and handed it to him blade first. He wasn't sure what turned him on more: the blade, the fact that she was pressed up against his back or that her booted foot was right around his groin. What he did know was that as soon as the crisis was over, he and Tosh were going to see just how flexible she really was.

'Careful,' she whispered. 'It's sharp.'

Owen couldn't believe the weapon that came from Tosh's boot. 'Where the hell did you get this?' he exclaimed.

'From me,' said Ianto as he stood in the open doorway. Both Owen and Tosh blew out heavy sighs of relief.

'Dear God, TeaBoy!' Owen swore. 'That had to have taken ten years off me!'

'Nice to see you as well, Owen,' Ianto answered primly. Tosh let go of Owen's shoulders, much to Owen's dismay, and gathered Ianto into a bear hug. Ianto allowed her to cuddle him as he rolled his eyes at Owen. Owen smirked.

'Come on,' he said as soon as Tosh let go. 'Gwen called out just before the entity enveloped her again. They're going to the morgue.'

'Suzie?' Owen asked. Ianto nodded.

'Jack's meeting us outside – and he's bringing weapons. I've enacted a twelve hour lockdown…just in case,' he continued.

~~TW~~

Outside the morgue, the remaining Torchwood members gathered. Owen sized up Jack's bloodied appearance and gave him a sad nod of acknowledgement. 'She went straight for a head shot, right?' he asked.

Jack nodded, then suddenly cottoned on. 'How did you know?'

Owen grinned. 'Before TeaBoy here taught you how to keep up after yourself, you used to bin your bloodied and torn shirts with my medical waste. One day Tosh and me got curious…and saw a death of yours by Weevil. We decided to keep this to ourselves, figuring you'd tell us about it when you were ready. Suzie didn't know, did she?'

'Not until the night she shot herself,' Jack answered. 'She shot me in the head; I dropped dead. Then I got up afterwards…fully healed. She… she killed herself.'

'So why have Gwen just shoot you?' Tosh asked. 'If she knew it wouldn't stop you…why do it?'

'Because he wasn't the target; he's never been,' Ianto said softly. 'I am. It's always been me. Even without our terrible secrets, she and I never would have been friends.'

'Why?' Tosh asked as she checked the weapon and ammunition that Jack handed her.

'Because…at her heart, Suzie Costello is pure evil,' Ianto answered as he opened the door to the morgue.

~~TW~~

While Ianto was getting Tosh and Owen out of the cells, Gwen and Max were in the morgue standing in front of Suzie's drawer. Gwen nodded to Max and he broke the lock and wretched the door open. Freezing smoke and ice crystals filled the air as Gwen pulled the tray out. A white plastic bag with a zipper lay before her, and, with trembling hands she opened the zipper.

Inside Suzie lay in an almost peaceful repose. It belied the confusion and helplessness she felt as she shot herself. Gwen marvelled at the frost that formed on her eyebrows and eyelashes; how blue her lips were given the color of her darker skin. Max fixed the Glove over his own hand and waited…until the Glove itself twitched as its joints began to glow blue. He then nodded to Gwen, who then raised the second item from the Secure Box over her head – the Knife.

Without looking down, she plunged it directly into Suzie's heart as Max put the Glove under Suzie's head. And the corpse of Suzie Costello opened its eyes and SCREAMED.

~~TW~~

When Ianto pushed the doors to the morgue open, everyone was immediately on full alert. Four guns pointed towards the rows of locked cabinets in front of them in the converted Railroad Roundhouse. They all zeroed in on the open and empty one.

The area was silent – and yet the energy that permeated around them set Ianto on edge. _They are here_, he said to the others as a shadow appeared on his right – it was Max wearing the Glove on one hand, holding the Knife in the other and aiming for Jack. Ianto quickly stepped in front of the Captain and with a thought dropped the large man to the ground. Gwen then appeared from behind a pillar on their left; her weapon pointed at Owen and Tosh and let off four shots in quick succession. Ianto turned, and his eyes glowed blue as the bullets lost their momentum and fell useless to the ground. Gwen tucked herself behind the pillar again as Ianto watched Tosh and Owen sedate Max with an emergency med kit kept in the morgue. Looking at Max more closely, he realized the incapacitated man still had the Glove on. He turned to Jack.

'The Glove!' he said as he turned to the pillar Gwen was hidden behind. 'Get it off of him!'

As Jack moved to do as he asked, Gwen stepped out from behind the pillar. And _Suzie_ stepped out from behind Gwen…

~~TW~~

When Suzie stopped screaming, Gwen pulled out the Knife and she and Max put their hands on Suzie's chest. The gaping, oozing hole in the back of her head began to close as did the wound to her chest. The pallor her skin had when she was in the drawer was gone – and her lips curved into a truly wicked smile.

'Gwen,' she purred. 'How have you been?'

~~TW~~

With a smile on her face that looked more like a grimace, Gwen fired her weapon as Suzie stretched out her hand – _and the Knife flew into it!_ Pulling the Knife over her head, she let out a triumphant howl as she ran towards Ianto. The Archivist closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Suzie paused in her forward charge, amazedat how crystal blue his eyes were_. And the Knife in her hands shattered, as the bullets Gwen fired melted._ The former PC fell to the ground shaking, as if in a fit. Ianto leveled his still glowing blue eyes at Suzie.

'What are you doing to her, Thief?' he asked calmly.

'She is fighting the Glove and me,' Suzie answered, still marveling over the color of Ianto's eyes. 'But in the end…I will win.' She shook her head, chuckling softly. 'If One had even an inkling of what you would become, they never would have let you go, you know.'

'How long do you think you can keep fighting her, Suzie?' Ianto asked, ignoring her statement entirely. 'Death comes for all of us in the end.'

'Yes…for all of us. Except for Jack,' she answered condescendingly.

Ianto nodded in agreement, smiling ruefully. 'Touché.' He then straightened his back and sighed. 'I could say it was nice seeing you again, but you really know how I feel about you,' – and he _forced himself into Suzie's mind!_

Suzie jerked and let out a surprised yelp as she felt something rip into her conscious – _her memories! She __hated__ her father! She was thankful when the hospital staff gave her their condolences concerning his prognosis. Stage 5 – terminal. Twelve months, two years maximum. He couldn't talk anymore, but his eyes burned with utter disdain and hatred. She waited until everyone walked away to tell him the truth. 'I found it, Dad! Our ancestors really did make it! It fell through The Rift after it had been reformed. But it needs someone powerful to control it…to wield it. You have no idea the rush it gives…I've been using a powerful psychic to learn how to control it. But I don't need him anymore…I know how to use it now. I'll never bring to you…it needs someone whole and healthy. You're just a rotting corpse that hasn't died yet – and I'm not giving my life up to save your sorry ass! I'll leave you here to waste away slowly…like you did to Mother. And when you least expect it….' She had left with a smile on her face that she had to hide behind crocodile tears and fake sobs…_

_She found the UNIT reports about a young boy growing up in Newport, the son of a former UNIT lieutenant that left shortly after she was pregnant of him. The mother was a powerful Seer…the father was a moron and a brute. The sister was inconsequential. But the boy…the boy would be worth his weight in platinum. The boy's name was Ianto Emrys Jones…_

Suzie screamed and then fell to the floor as Ianto closed his eyes again, letting her go. 'And here I thought _my_ home life was shit,' he murmured.

Suzie rose from the floor again and raised her hand to Ianto as a sudden breeze wafted through the morgue. Tosh and Owen sat up at that, remembering Jack's mountain analogy from earlier.

'Find anything in there worthwhile?' Suzie spat.

'No,' Ianto answered. 'But I really wasn't looking for anything – except for the location of those files, perhaps. And how you came back.' He turned to Jack then. _It's the Glove, Jack! It's draining the lifeforce out of Max and Gwen – and feeding it into Suzie!_

'SHUT UP!' Suzie screeched suddenly. 'I know you are talking to them! You can't save them! They are mine!'

Max suddenly gasped and went still, Gwen opened her eyes and screamed.

'Ianto! You have to kill her!' she gasped out, then fell unconscious.

Ianto looked at Suzie evenly. 'Yes…I do,' he said softly. Jack wretched the Glove off of Max's hand as Suzie screamed again.

'I AM NOT GOING BACK TO THE DARK! I'll take you all with me first! There are _things in the Dark!_ You can't see them – but you can _feel them!_ There is something _massive_ there are well! When it walks, its steps creates sparks…you can see just for a millisecond. It scares all the other scary things there…and it's coming….it's coming for all of YOU!'

The psychic wind Suzie was trying to make became stronger as Owen and Tosh tried stabilizing the two stricken on the floor; Owen shouting that they were fading fast. Ianto then turned to Jack – and everything stilled as it made perfect crystalline sense. _Trust me?_ he asked his lover.

_Always_**,** came the fervent reply.

Ianto then turned to Suzie, making her the focal point of _his_ full power. The wind that had been building around them blew into a full tempest, but centralized on the former Torchwood Operative. She gasped as she fell to the floor again, this time gasping for air as the wind around her snatched it from her lungs. She watched as the area around him was still - and began to glow with thousands of flying creatures…_Faire._

'You say there is something in the Dark,' Ianto said softly, his Welsh lilt almost lyrical. Suzie was taken in again by the glowing _blue_ of his eyes, a sharp contrast to the glowing white around him. 'There are many things there, Thief. But the one you speak of is known to many. One of his many Names…is Satan, Suzie. And it makes perfect sense that you were in the Dark. Because you were in Hell; right where you belong.'

The glowing flitting lights grew until they became the Warrior Faire – and Suzie screamed. 'Besides,' Ianto continued unperturbed. 'My friends here know how to turn on lights.' The Warriors swooped down on the frightened woman, making her scream again – long and loud.

_Trying to hurt OUR Ianto_**,** they jeered. _Trying to KILL OUR OWN!_

Ianto then turned to Jack – and at an unseen signal, Jack threw the Glove in the air. And Ianto pulled his open right hand into a tight fist, shattering the Glove. Max and Gwen screamed – then took hold of Tosh and Owen, anchoring on to them for dear life. The pair of them gasped for air like drowning people while their eyes looked around the morgue, wide and terrified. Suzie was flat on her back, the gash on her chest had returned – along with the hole in her head and a myriad of scratches and bruises on her face and arms. The Faire had vanished.

Owen did quick checks on both Max and Gwen, letting out a loud sigh when he was done. 'They're okay,' he concluded softly. 'They'll both make it.'

'She made me do it,' Max mourned softly. 'They…they were my friends. I…I loved them! Even her…and she made me kill them,' he whimpered.

Ianto knelt down in front of the large man and took his hand in his smaller ones, holding it comfortingly. 'I can help you…but only if you want,' he offered softly.

Max looked up at him, pained tears streaming down his face. 'Please…but not just for me. The others had family…my parents. They will be so ashamed.' He then broke down again. Ianto gathered him into his arms and let him cry himself out. As soon as he calmed, Ianto placed his pointer finger on Max's Third Eye and whispered _'Sleep'._ The man slumped over unconscious.

An image of a large teddy bear dressed in leather chaps suddenly flashed into his mind…and he smiled as he watched Tosh dip her head in embarrassment. Ianto passed the image on to the others – and the smiles multiplied.

Ianto stood then – and with a wave of his left hand, all of the shards of the Knife and Glove collected themselves and hovered off the ground. With his right, he _lifted Max off the floor_. He turned to the others.

'You okay with Gwen?' he asked. Everyone smiled at him.

'I think we can handle it,' Owen answered ruefully.

'Good. After all of this, I could murder a good coffee and a bacon butty,' Ianto said as he walked towards the main area of The Hub, the metal shards and Max floating dutifully behind him.

~~TWTWTW~~

Two hours later found Suzie relabeled and tucked back into her drawer in the Morgue, Max back at home and sleeping it off (after the others had given his parents the cover story of him getting drunk at the wakes of friends' funerals), and Gwen getting ready to go home – but not before Ianto explained a few things.

'Why did you keep calling her Thief?' Gwen asked. 'It really ticked her off.'

Ianto smiled as he looked at the chest recovered from Suzie's locker, now sitting on Owen's autopsy table. The shards from the Glove and Knife also lay on it.

'I went into her mind…she knew about the Glove and Knife…she was looking for them. Her father…was not a nice person. He was the one to tell her of…their unique properties. He was dying…cancer. He had hoped she'd use the Glove to keep him alive. Instead – she used me and killed three people to test it out. Then, as we took Max home, the other pieces fell into place.' He opened the lock on the chest with a twist of his hand and pried open the lid. The inside could not be seen as a white smoke escaped the box and spilled over onto the metal table. With a flick of Ianto's wrist, the metal shards of the Glove and Knife, floating in the air off to the side flew into the box. The metal and smoke mixed together as a white light began to glow within its center.

'Oh,' he gasped softly. 'I really _hate_being right about things like this.'

The metal coalesced into a gleaming silver bar – that then formed itself into a small figurine of a 16th century noblewoman. 'Nemesis,' Ianto whispered.

Jack, Owen and Tosh gasped. The Archivist smiled then, happy in the knowledge that they listened to his excited explanations of his discoveries.

'Wow,' Jack mused. 'Validium – sentient metal.'

'But I thought you said The Doctor destroyed it all,' Owen said aloud to Ianto.

_He did_, the figurine answered. Everyone jumped at that. ___But I was apart – and not drawn into battle_.

'I remember now,' Ianto began. 'The written accounts Torchwood One acquired stated that when the meteor crashed into Lady Peinforte's garden, pieces of it fell off. It was assumed that they all merged with the larger piece, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility that some were left behind.'

'So how did Suzie's people get it?' Owen asked.

Ianto smiled softly. 'Thieves – or her own servants. By written accounts, it was said she employed "people of low birth, ill-regard and Gypsies". Her manservant Richard was rumored to have carried out a murder or two on her Ladyship's behalf. Suzie's ancestors stole the small pieces left behind and smelted them into the Glove and Knife. Now, how they ended up in the Rift, who knows? But now…now we have them.' He turned to the small figurine. 'You know you can not stay here.'

Its metallic head nodded_. I know…and I understand. You were the only one to wield my power, yet not fall under my corruptive spell. I am not powerful enough to do the feats my larger self did…but I could be useful._

Ianto nodded his own head in agreement. 'I have others that will keep you safe until you are needed. Will you submit to them?'

The figurine curtsied to Ianto, its small silver face holding a true smile_. I am yours to command, Master Ianto._

Ianto smiled as well. 'Owain, Cerys!' he called out. Two glowing figures appeared to his left and right – and solidified into his Cousin and Aunt of the Faire.

_You call us – and we answer_, their voices said in unison.

'Please take Nemesis with you, keep her safe within the Undying Lands until she is needed,' Ianto explained as he bowed to them. 'And please…thank the Others. Tell them…tell them that I apologize for any previous disrespect – and I thank them for their help.'

Owain and Cerys looked to each other, then to the young man and smiled broadly_. You are one of us, Cousin_, Owain said softly as Cerys coaxed the figurine to sit in her hand as she closed the chest and had it float next to her**. **_A little different, a tad older – but we have Named you as a Chosen One none the less._

'Thank you,' Ianto answered, bowing his head again as the two beings became light – and they, the Nemesis and the chest winked away.

Owen blew out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He then focused his attention on Ianto. 'You and your relatives,' he groused.

The others all laughed.

~~TWTWTW~~

The next morning Ianto arranged a meeting with Kathy Swanson at a café close to the Quay. He stood as soon as she entered the establishment and helped her into her seat. A waitress came over and took their orders, returning a few minutes later with two cups of coffee and a plate of puff pastries.

'Two sugars and light cream,' Ianto said, setting the cup in front of her after he had added the appropriate condiments.

She looked at him in surprise. 'I didn't tell you that,' she said evenly. Ianto gave her a warm smile.

'No…you didn't,' he answered, but offered no explanation. Swanson returned the smile and took a light sip…and then moaned in absolute delight.

'I had no idea their coffee is that good,' she said, smiling at her cup.

'I have a confession to make,' Ianto began playfully. 'It's my private blend.'

Swanson's eyes lit up. 'So what do I have to do to get some more of your private blend?'

One half hour later, the murder cases were closed and Torchwood had a D.I. as a liaison. As Swanson handed over copies of the case files, she leveled an even eye at the Archivist. 'Christine would have likedj you,' she said softly as she showed him a well-loved photo of herself and a younger woman in graduation robes – both smiling proudly for the camera.

'I think you both would have loved Lisa,' he returned, opening his wallet and showing her a photo of himself and Lisa smiling.

Kathy smiled, feeling a weight lift off of her that she had no idea was even there. She was free to remember the happy times again…she was finally free to let the loss of her sister go. She turned to the young man before her and grasped his hand resting on the table between them. 'Thank you…and if you ever need anything-,' she began.

'I will ring and ask before Captain Harkness blunders in and ruffles everyone's feathers,' Ianto finished.

The Torchwood SUV pulled up outside the café then and Jack tooted the horn. Ianto had ordered coffee and pastries for everyone since he knew the Torchwood Team would not let him make the next visit planned alone.

'Duty calls, Detective Inspector,' he said as he rose from their table and walked to the counter where his extended order was waiting. Kathy helped him with the carry-alls to the SUV.

'Until we meet again, Mister Jones,' she said as Ianto accommodated himself in the front passenger seat.

'Detective,' he returned warmly as the SUV slowly rolled away.

~~TWTWTW~~

Owen quickly took hold of the coffee carry-all and began handing out the warm coffee takeaway cups.

'Mr. Jones,' he proclaimed after a satisfying sip from his cup. 'I'd swear you had them brew your coffee.'

'Mr. Harper; I believe you are correct,' Ianto answered, a smile on his lips. The others smiled and then busied themselves with pastries and breakfast sandwiches.

Jack looked to Ianto. _Swanson is okay with everything?_ He asked.

Ianto smirked. _Everything is fine._ He then eyed everyone behind him from the vanity mirror. 'Are you sure you all want to come?'

Tosh and Gwen nodded mutely, trying to swallow some of their pastry to talk. Owen interceded. 'Yes – the invitation was extended to all of us,' he explained. 'And even if this is out in the middle of God's Country…there are no cannibals involved.'

Everyone groaned at that. 'Okay…three hour ride everyone,' Jack reminded them and was answered with groans. 'Lethbridge-Steward House, here we come.'

A/N: _OMG! I have written it! Archivist's Archives is BACK! Next up is going to be an interlude…because I really never liked Random Shoes and I have to figure out how I get Ianto mixed up into that. Lethbridge Steward & Co – Ianto gets a few answers from his mother's oldest friends. The next chapter's title is from a quote from E.E. Cummings…so Archivist's Archives Interlude: Becoming Who You Are should be up pretty soon…_

_And remember – reviews are love – and Food for Rabid Plot Bunnies, because those poor dears are seriously starved! Please feed The Rabid Plot Bunnies!_

_Darque_


	8. Chapter 8: Becoming Who You Are

_A/N: Originally this was going to be a stand alone Interlude, but then after watching a few YouTube videos of Mark Gatiss talking about how he writes (for inspiration), I realized I really didn't like where this chapter was heading. And then I asked myself where was it written that I couldn't change it? Hence…THE CHANGE._

_And so I merged my Interlude with "Random Shoes" and an ally was born in the form of Eugene Jones. I was kind of shocked and impressed where the muses took me this time around – and I hope you are as well._

_So, the quote I'm using this time is from E.E. Cummings and I think it really speaks for the two central characters of this chapter – Ianto and Eugene. Ianto knows that his world will continue to change and evolve. And he needs to change with it, or be consumed by it. Eugene…poor guy. So much potential lost in a matter of seconds; but he's given another chance from an unlikely source._

_And, hating to repeat myself, but I must – don't own TW or DW – they belong to BBC Cymru…and Starz. I'm not making a penny from it, I just love taking the characters out for LONG test spins…I give you…_

**Torchwood: The Archivist's Archives**

**Chapter Eight: Becoming Who You Are**

_"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." – E. E. Cummings_

It was a grand estate in the stately English countryside that the Torchwood SUV pulled up to just after 12 noon. It had been a rather comfortable drive; Tosh and Gwen played a computerized version of The Weakest Link where they cheated by asking the men for help when the questions became too hard. Owen entertained himself mostly by giving them the wrong answers – and listening to his IPod.

Ianto and Jack entertained each other with what Jack dubbed his Internal Cinema. How it was that Jack hadn't run off the road a few times was simply a testament to his sheer willpower…and the fact that Ianto would be the star in his next physical production once they got home.

They stopped once at a lay-by – Jack really needed a breather and everyone else needed the loo. But now they were pulled up to an impressive guardhouse that stood in front of an equally impressive wrought iron and brick gate. Everyone passed their credentials on to the guard – and after checking them against a list on a clipboard, opened the gate to allow them entrance.

'Welcome to the City of Oz,' Owen muttered as the gate pulled back. The young guard then walked up to Jack's side of the SUV.

'The Brig and his Missus are expecting you. I'll ring up and let them know you're on your way up. Keep on the main road and keep the speed under 15. There are quite a few farm animals about. Just follow the signs up to the main house,' the guard instructed him congenially. Jack nodded, the others waved at the guard – and they were off.

Ten minutes later, as the SUV made it over the last rise; they all saw an imposing three story Georgian style house standing in front of an immaculate lawn and impressive lake. Jack stopped the SUV so everyone could take a proper look.

'Wow,' Gwen breathed, gawping at the house.

'I feel like Elizabeth Bennett looking at Pemberly for the first time,' Tosh whispered – then she and Gwen started giggling like school girls. The three men smiled indulgently as Jack put the SUV in gear and drove to the front of the house.

At the steps of the house's main entrance stood an elderly couple. The man wore an immaculate three piece suit; the woman next to him wore a smart two piece suit and had a kind, smiling face. Ianto gasped as the SUV pulled to a stop in front of them.

'I remember them,' he said softly as Owen put a hand on his shoulder from behind him in unspoken support. 'When Tad broke my leg,' Ianto continued. 'They sat with Mam for a bit and spoke with her when they all thought I was asleep.' He sighed sadly. 'They were trying to convince Mam to leave Tad. She thanked them, but said no…,' his voice trailed off as he looked to the couple coming down the steps. 'Maybe they'll have answers for me.'

'Maybe,' Jack said softly as he squeezed Ianto's knee.

~~TWTWTW~~

The older gentleman walked hurriedly down the steps, smiling brightly and laughing as he approached them. His wife (Doris, Mam said), making Ianto start; followed at a more sedate pace.

'Brigadier General,' Jack said smiling and then stood at attention and saluted. The older man chuckled, waving the title off and opened his arms wide to Jack. Jack entered the Brig's embrace, relishing the feeling of comfort that came with the warm gesture.

'Been away far too long, you scalawag,' The Brigadier admonished. Jack looked down – and to Ianto, he was the epitome of a school boy being dressed down by the Head Master. Everyone smiled at that. 'I am Brigadier General Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Retired,' he announced to the others. 'And this,' he turned to the woman next to him. 'Is my lovely wife, Doris.'

"Lethbridge-Stewart,' said Jack formerly. 'May I introduce Torchwood Cardiff. My second and Team Medic, Doctor Owen Harper. Tech Expert Toshiko Sato, Field Officer Gwen Cooper and our Archivist and General Support – .'

'Mr. Ianto Jones,' Lethbridge-Stewart said, walking up to the younger man and, taking his hand, shook it warmly. 'The honor is all mine, young man.'

'You knew my mother,' Ianto said softly as he shook the man's hand in return.

'Yes – Mary Eileen Jones – only back then she was Nash,' Stewart said, his voice going soft.

His wife Doris took Ianto's hand then – and Ianto _saw_

_- His mother as a young girl going to boarding school and befriending Doris, the Head Master's daughter back home from university on a break._

_- His mother as a young UNIT soldier, following Lethbridge-Stewart's orders._

_- His mother as an attaché to The Doctor and to help Doctor Elizabeth Shaw and Sergeant Michael Yates with the grounded TimeLord._

_- How his mother introduced Doris to the Brigadier_ (They were made for each other, _his Mam whispers_).

He looked at the woman with new eyes. 'Thank you,' he whispered.

She smiled broadly. 'You are far more powerful than your mother, Mr. Jones. But then, she did tell us you would be.' Ianto bowed his head and blushed at that. The team unconsciously gathered closer to him – and Doris and Stewart laughed.

The retired serviceman turned to Jack. 'You have guarded him well – and he does the same for you all. Mary Eileen was right. He was better where he was then with…us and UNIT.' He sighed then, looking to Ianto again. 'By the Great One, you have your mother's eyes!' Doris put a steadying hand on Stewart's shoulder and Ianto took the older man's hand and _saw..._

_A raging argument between the Brig and his mother…she was in civvies and pregnant while Stewart was in uniform._

_'He cannot stay here with you, Alistair!' she almost yelled in a cold, angry voice._

_'Why not? The Brig asked, his voice going soft. 'Doris and I would love him as our own. He would be cared for, educated well…he would want for nothing!'_

_'Except for a REAL life – with his Mam and sister,' Mary reasoned. 'I SEE things, Alistair. UNIT would never let him go…he would go with my ancestors of the Faire – and the Earth as you know it would be destroyed by a madman! He NEEDS to be with ME, Alistair. Even if his father is a right bastard to him in the future. I am sorry, but what I am fighting for is bigger than you or me – or Doris or my son! I fight for the Universe; I fight to keep this timeline straight and true.'_

_'Is that what The Doctor showed you? Is he the one that said you have to leave?' Alistair asked his voice sharp and accusing._

_It was and wasn't The Doctor,' she answered cryptically. 'What I have seen…a future incarnation merely confirmed. There are beings called The Guardians of Time – and they call The Doctor Time's Champion. And they were the ones that strengthened my resolve…and my son needs to be ready. Because…**in the 21st century, everything really will change**.'_

Ianto let go of the Brigadier's hand, gasping loudly. 'You…you wanted…you wanted to keep me?' he asked. The Brigadier now bowed his head.

'Yes,' he said after a time. 'But your mother said no.' He cleared his throat then and looked up to the others. 'You've all made a very long a very long journey and Doris has made sure Cook prepared a luncheon fit for Kings.'

Owen clapped his hands at that. Tosh and Gwen gave him a look.

'What?' he asked indignantly. 'I'm dying for a proper sit-down meal.'

The others laughed – and Ianto nodded in the medic's direction. Thank you, he whispered into Owen's mind.

Any time, Owen answered back.

~~TWTWTW~~

After lunch, Doris took the others on a tour of the House's grounds and gardens while Jack and Ianto retired to the study with the Brigadier.

'Jack was told you had something of my mother's for me,' Ianto said once everyone was settled.

Lethbridge-Stewart smiled softly as he rose from his seat behind a great cherry wood desk and walked towards a picture frame mounted on the wall to the left of the table.

In the frame was a photograph of himself in the center with a tall man with brown curly hair, a brown fedora and an impossibly long multi-colored scarf on one side and a slim woman with shoulder length brown hair on the other. The three were not looking at the camera, but instead the Brig and the woman were looking at the tall man, laughing at whatever he had said. A carefree moment caught forever in time within the photo.

'One incarnation of The Doctor and Miss Sarah Jane Smith,' Stewart explained as he followed Jack and Ianto's gazes. 'I knew and worked with at least four of him…them…The Doctors.'

The men all smiled at one another as the Brig pulled at the edge of the frame and it swung away from the wall on two hinges, exposing a wall safe. With a few expert turns, the safe door swung open and he removed a wooden case the size of a shoebox. He closed the safe door and swung the frame back into place. He then placed the box on his desk and slid it across to Ianto as he sat back in his chair. 'Your mother was a remarkable woman,' the Brig said fondly. 'I was sorry to see her go.'

'Especially since she had stayed after the birth of my sister,' Ianto added.

Stewart nodded.

'You and Doris tried to convince her to leave Tad,' Ianto continued.

Stewart sighed then. 'Many times…but the only time we ever went into it in front of you was that day at the hospital. Do you remember that?'

'Now. But not before I saw you and Doris,' Ianto answered.

Again Stewart nodded. 'You mother…she was a powerful Seer. I used to think of her as a younger sister, but she was also my subordinate and I hope I never breached that bond of trust. We tried so hard to change her mind – but she was just as stubborn and adamant as she had been ten years previous and refused to leave your father or sister. And then - .'

'She died two years later,' Ianto said, finishing Stewart's sentence.

The Brig nodded again. 'When your name popped up at Torchwood One, I tried to keep a discreet eye on you. UNIT…UNIT had changed…and I was afraid for you. Until Canary Wharf.' The old man's blue eyes locked onto the young man's face – but Ianto's countenance betrayed nothing. 'Three generals and two Colonels that were very interested in you died in their sleep within three weeks after the fall of Torchwood Tower. It was later determined that all five of them were on Torchwood's secret payrolls.' He sighed then. 'Tell me you had nothing to do with that,' he implored Ianto.

The young man stared impassively at the old man. '"Ask me of me no secrets, I'll tell to thee no lies",' he answered softly.

The Brigadier scoffed at that – and motioned to the box in front of him. "Open it all ready. I've been hanging onto that all of your life; to be honest I am more then just a little intrigued.'

Ianto's hand hovered over the box, then he laid it back on his thigh. 'Do you know if UNIT had anything to do with my mother's death?' he asked bluntly.

Stewart sighed deeply again. 'I am not sure. She saw them changing – it started almost immediately after The Doctor left with Sarah Jane. She was afraid for you – and left the box in my care. It was not a happy affair…when she came…we…argued. She was steadfast…and in the end, she was so right.' He rubbed his hand against his brow. 'UNIT has changed again…and I do not like what I am seeing. I can honestly say that what they have become frightens me.'

Ianto nodded as he looked at the intricate carvings on the box. He put his hand on it -_ and saw his great grandfather as a young man carving the box as a keepsake for his great grandmother_. His hands shook as he pried open the lid and inside with a few keepsakes was a yellowed envelope. _My Son_ was written across it in a hand writing Ianto never thought he'd see again. 'Mam,' he whispered softly as he opened the envelope and pulled out several pages covered in his mother's neat, precise script.

_My Son_, the letter began. _I know that by the time you receive this letter and box you will be a young man finding your way in the world – with Captain Jack Harkness at your side_. Ianto gasped sharply; and after waving Jack off, continued to read.

_I am so sorry I could not be there for you and your sister. And, even if she was extremely misguided, I am grateful that Yvonne and psi-trainers were there for you. It should have been me training you…showing you how to harness the massive power that is within your grasp to command. You have not been born – another two months yet. But I can **see** so much. You have such a kind heart; it shines through no matter how many times it has been beaten and hurt_.

He could almost feel his Mam sigh then. _There are terrible trials on the horizon. Your nightmares are not nightmares, Ianto. They are portents of things to come. Remember that you would have one of the Chosen had I not interfered…and your father not destroyed some of your faith. I know your father will hurt you – and I am so ashamed that I am leaving you in his "care". But it will shape you into the man you will become. The items within the box are mementos, trinkets and keepsakes of the Family…and the Faire. They will help you in the days to come; for they will be dark indeed_.

_Leave the Validium in the care of the Faire. HE cannot get control of it! It is dangerous and would be as gleefully devious as those that call him "Father". Your Cousin and Aunt of the Faire will help to train you to control it. Take their counsel; listen and take heed to all they teach and show you, Dearest. You will be their greatest pupil_.

_As for the Captain…he loves you, Yannie. So very much; never doubt that. As the ages pass on for him – it will be **you** and **you alone** that will help the Captain remember his humanity, always remember that. And never believe otherwise._

_Embrace your growing powers, my son. Know that I will always be with you…and I have never regretted you for a second._

_I love you, Yannie._

_Mam 5th, June, 1983_

Ianto sighed as he folded the letter reverently and slid it back into the envelope. Looking in the box, he found a deck of Tarot Cards (_The Little Girl will ask for them_, he heard his Mam whisper.) A few broaches – all of which lit up and glowed before going dark.

'Faire,' he mumbled before placing the letter on top and closing the box. When he was home in the privacy and confines of his flat he would peruse every piece – and quite possibly have a good cry over several of them. 'Thank you so much, Brigadier,' he said softly. 'She was…well…my Mam.' He then turned to Jack. 'She saw you,' he said simply.

Jack took one of Ianto's hands and kissed it tenderly. _I love you, Yan_,' he heard his Captain whisper.

_And I you, my Treasure_, he whispered back.

~~TWTWTW~~

A few days later Jack and Owen were on a Weevil capture while Tosh coordinated and Gwen went to prepare a few holding cells, giving Ianto time to get on fresh coffee and nip to the Archives for a few peaceful moments. He went down to his office in the main level of the repository and sat at his desk. He sighed deeply as he stretched out in the leather office chair he had acquired from one of the lower levels. He closed his eyes as he removed his comm unit…and the air in front of his desk began to glow as his Cousin Owain appeared to him.

The Faire One sighed as he looked at the young man before him. He could have been one of their greatest if he had only come with them… He sighed impatiently as his eyes fell to the wooden box on the clean desktop.

_So, you got her letter then?_ He asked as Ianto opened his eyes. The Welshman nodded. _Shall we begin?_

'Yes,' Ianto whispered.

_What would you like to learn?_

Ianto thought for a moment. 'What do you think I should learn first?'

Owain smiled…and suddenly his visage took on one of a Warrior Faire. _Everything, Cousin,_ he growled. _**Everything**_.

Ianto quirked his lips in his Iantonian Smirk. 'Show me,' he whispered almost desperately. 'I am here to learn all that I can, Cousin. To become all that I am. And then **_more_**.'

~~TWTWTW~~

When Jack, Gwen, Tosh and Owen came back from the roadside accident with the body of Eugene Jones, he wasn't surprised. What did surprise him was _seeing_ Eugene Jones standing amongst them, marveling at the wonders of The Hub.

_Jack!_ he called out – and Eugene _turned towards him!_

_What?_ Jack called back.

_You brought back more then just the body_, Ianto deadpanned.

'Oi!' Eugene called out loud. 'You! You're Ianto Jones, right?'

_What do you mean?_ Jack asked, still walking away towards tosh.

_Eugene's spirit is HERE! In The Hub…RIGHT NOW!_

_'What?'_ Jack and Eugene asked at the same time. The others turned towards Ianto as well.

'I see you, Eugene,' Ianto said softly to an empty space behind where everyone walked in. 'You're dead…but you know that all ready, don't you?'

'Yes,' Eugene sighed. 'But I can't remember why. I saw the aftermath, I was standing there with the others on the tarmac…but I can't even remember the how.' He paused to look around…and then to his body laid out on the metal autopsy table. Eugene looked up to Ianto, longing and pain in his eyes. 'Can…can you help me?'

Ianto looked down into the Autopsy Bay at the body of Eugene Jones – and raised his right hand towards it. 'There is something within your stomach…an alien eye. You received it as a gift from a teacher when you were eleven. The day after you had lost The Knowledge Bowl and your father left home,' Ianto recited in his now familiar monotone voice. He turned to where the spectre stood and raised his left hand towards it. 'Are you sure you want to know? To remember?' he asked suddenly. 'The world…it has been a cruel place for you. The answers you seek…will…hurt.'

Eugene swallowed heavily. 'I think…after dying, it honestly can't be much worse.'

Ianto nodded his head and turned to the team medic. 'Owen,' he said softly. 'Mind holding off on the autopsy, yeah?' The doctor nodded and, putting down his scalpel, he and Gwen walked out of the bay. Ianto walked down into the bay once the others had exited while Jack and Eugene's spirit followed him down. Gwen, Owen and Tosh gathered on the gallery above to look down at what was going to happen.

'Give me your hand, Eugene,' Ianto said, holding out his left hand to the ghost again. His right was on the body's stomach.

'Okay,' Eugene answered; uncertainty plain in his voice as he moved his hand towards Ianto's. 'But I can't – .' The rest of what he was going to say was swallowed by a snap of electricity – and Eugene Jones appeared before everyone present.

Within minutes, the whole of Eugene's life played out to only Eugene and Ianto – the others simply saw flashes of light and felt a slight change in The Hub's temperature. 'Bastards,' Ianto muttered as he lifted his hand from Eugene's body. He looked to the spectre. 'You have a choice, Eugene. Go back – or move on.'

Eugene looked to Ianto, angry, scared and most of all, bewildered. 'How can I go back?' he yelled. 'The police have already told me mam and brother I'm dead! My bastard best friend turned on me! And that moron troglodyte from the video store thinking he could make a buck off of me! All because of that STUPID, cheap piece of glass sh-.'

'It's real, Eugene,' Ianto said softly. 'You would not be here otherwise. I...could use someone like you. You and I have unique talents…talents that _can_ save the world one day. I have friends that will keep an eye out for you; keep you and your family safe. The world will become a far uglier place very soon – and I will have a need for intelligent people as yourself to help me and others to save the Earth.'

Eugene looked down to his broken body, then up to the others - _and realized they were not moving!_ 'What? H…how are _you_ doing that, Ianto Jones?'

'I was told recently that I may be one of the most powerful psychics on Earth at this time. My mother said it was time for me to become who I am. And now I say the same to you, Eugene Jones. It is time for you to grow up – and become who you really are.'

Eugene looked again to his broken body – and thought of the myriad of things he could do to change the mess his life had become. 'Go back,' Eugene said, repeating what Ianto had said. 'Or do you mean "start over"?'

Ianto smiled then – and Eugene felt a little unsettled by the feral grin with too many teeth perched on Ianto's face. 'However you want it, Eugene,' he answered evenly.

'I want to go back; back to that awful day. I want to fix it; change it into something better. I know Tad'll leave, but at least Mam won't have to tell me stupid lies. And my brother will know we'll be fine without Tad. Because I'm Eugene Jones, a genius with numbers and facts. I am going to be all that I am.'

Ianto's smile widened at the declaration. 'Good luck, Eugene. I'll be in touch; you'll have a far more promising future. This I swear.' He then moved his hand out of the spectre's hold and switched it over the corpse's heart. His other hand he held over the stomach – and Eugene watched as his body gave up the Eye.

'What is it?' he asked, amazed that his talisman _actually_ was an alien bodypart.

'It is a Dogon Six Eye. The alien race it belongs to can tell the future with this appendage. It also allows those that pass with unfinished business to complete it before they move on to the next realm. But for you…it will be a talisman once more. To let you know and remember that no matter how much your life changes now – before it was just too small.'

Eugene Jones smiled then and held his hand out for the Eye. 'Thank you, Ianto Jones.' He snorted then – and Ianto smirked along with him. 'It's got to be the last name,' Eugene said, smiling. 'Be seeing you soon, Mr. Jones.'

'Sooner then you think, Mr. Jones,' Ianto answered, handing him the Eye.

And in a flash of light, Eugene Jones's body was gone – and everyone was back at their stations and areas around The Hub. Myfanwy screeched from high above in her aerie – and Ianto Jones opened his eyes to find himself seated across from his Cousin Owain at his desk in the Archives. Owain still wore his guise of the Warrior Faire as he stared at the young one in wonder.

_Cousin_,' the Faire One breathed. _Your mother did you such a disservice by taking you from us_.

'No,' Ianto said softly. 'If I had left with you – I wouldn't care about this world at all. And we do need each other for this planet to survive.'

Owain laughed long and loud at that. _You are right, Young One_, he conceded as he rose from the seat in front of Ianto's desk. _Until next time,_ he said as he began to fade away. _And of course we have watched over Eugene Jones and his family_.

'Thank you, Cousin. And thank the others as well,' Ianto answered.

_This is a new path, Cousin_, The Faire One commented gleefully. _And new paths are always **so much FUN!**_ And he vanished in a burst of light and fairey dust.

Ianto put his comm unit back on – and as he stood, he felt the shift within Time as the new memories instated themselves within his mind. Eugene Jones was a friend he met in university and was now running his own logistics firm. Ianto needed his mathematical skill and savvy to knowing where to put money and resources. _You have done well, my Son,_ his Mam whispered.

As he was shutting off his desk lamp, two strong arms encircled his waist as a firm body pressed close into his back. 'Mr Jones,' Jack purred into the ear without the comm.

'Captain Harkness,' Ianto answered.

'We're finishing up. Owen's putting the new residents away and I told everyone to home once all the paperwork was cleared away. I want to have dinner with you tonight.'

Ianto smiled. 'With me…or on me?' he asked cheekily.

Jack chuckled as he kissed the side of the young man's face. 'That is what the heavy whipped cream and maraschino cherries in the fridge qt home are for – dessert.'

Ianto laughed at that. Jack turned him around and looked deeply into his eyes. 'Something…is different,' he said after a few moments of silent study. 'You…you are different.'

'Good different or bad different?' Ianto asked, a twinge of fear creeping up his spine.

'Good,' Jack answered quickly to quell the Welshman's fears. 'It's a good different. A…powerful different as well. So what happened?'

Ianto chuckled as he cleared away the box and a few files from his desk and put them in the top drawer. 'Spoilers, O Captain, my Captain,' he said, pulling Jack closer by his trouser belt and kissing him. 'Spoilers,' he whispered into Jack's ear a few moments later.

~~TWTWTW~~

And in a galaxy not named by humans in the distant future…a Cloister Bell gave an ominous toll within the bowels of the TARDIS. The Doctor quickly ran to the main console room with his latest companion, Martha Jones, fast on his heels. After flicking a few switches, he was able to see what caused the commotion.

'What?' he asked incredulously. 'A lone human? On Earth? In the 21st century? Impossible!'

'What's wrong?' Martha asked, not liking The Doctor's pacing one bit.

The Doctor, however, was completely oblivious. 'Something…someone is on Earth that shouldn't be there. They are playing a dangerous game…and I need to find out how they managed it!' He jumped back to his console and began flipping switches, dialing knobs and typing out code on half a typewriter as the TARDIS engines began to grind away louder as it changed course and direction.

'So…where are we going?' Martha asked.

'Earth, 21st century. Cardiff, Wales,' The Doctor answered, putting on his glasses to inspect the Console's readout. 'Someone has A LOT of explaining to do.'

_A/N: And DONE! Yay! Well, this was a BEAR to do, but I'm glad where it finally ended up going. Next up is my version of "Captain Jack Harkness" – definitely some changes for the better! Stayed tuned Archives Fans – and many, many thanks to all that read, review and favorite both me and the story. And check out stories for my latest obsession: Sherlock Holmes & BBC Sherlock. That last one's not up yet – but have no fear! I'm losing WAY too much sleep writing it! Tootles!_

D.


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